Project Abominations
by Kurieo Parnok
Summary: Their fathers are hated villans, their caretakers are cold-hearted, judgmental scientists, and their home is an underground complex in the middle of an uncontrolled desert. Their destiny... to revive the Decepticons. Contains some violence and cussing.
1. Proglouge

Decepticon Kids and Abominations

**Prologue**

Ever sense the Decepticon-Autobot war had come to Earth, man kind had been kicked around, flung aside, and mind controlled to list but a few of their tortures. They had put up with it, hiding behind the Autobots until one day, and hoping for the best every morning, sometimes enjoying the glory of having super heroes protect them. But one day, upon the Decepticons' defacing of the Statue of Liberty, the humans flew into a rage, and flying into the final battle between the warring alien robot factions with sudden advanced human technology created by someone known simply as "The Doc", and helping the Autobots win the war. All the Decepticons were mercilessly either captured or destroyed, and the war ended. Optimus Prime, as well as many other surviving Autobots, were appalled at the sudden ferocity, but could not undo what had been done.

The leading Decepticons, though, in spite of their severe wounds, managed to survive in a comatose condition, and were handed over to the humans by the Autobots to be experimented with as the humans wished in Breaker Labs, a dark science complex hidden in the Sahara Desert. By "dark science", we mean the type of science that experiments with human DNA without worry, is funded by anonymous benefactors, and stick to themselves, getting supplies from near by towns and guarding themselves with in their underground science complex.

The humans came upon an interesting experiment almost immediately; attempt to mix a Transformer and a human so that the human may have the same capabilities of a Transformer, or a Transformer would have the same capabilities as the human. It was a away to bring the two species closer together. The Autobots scoffed at this, not believing it to be possible, but allowed the humans to go on with the experiment, wishing only that the Decepticon warriors would remain in comatose state so that they would never attack again. The scoffing became shouts of surprise when the human scientists figured out a way to mix Transformer repairing nanobots with human DNA.

Thus began Project Abominations.


	2. Meet the Kids

**Chapter 1: Meet the Efforts**

Michel woke up to hear the young ones, Foe and Brittney, fighting… again.

Sitting up and brushing a hand through his grey-ash colored hair, Michel rubbed sleep away from his silver-and-red eyes as Foe and Foe fought.

"It's _my_ jacket!" Brittney whined to the nine-year old, brown-skinned boy.

"Nuh-uh, it's _my_ jacket!" Foe objected to the nine-year old, blonde-and-black-and-blue streaked haired girl.

"What size is the jacket?" Steven interrupted, raising his head from his bunk.

"Two," Foe and Brittney said together.

"Foe, you're already wearing a uniform jacket so hence, Brittney gets it."

"Yay!" Brittney cheered, snatching the tight-sleeved, high-collared white and grey-trimmed uniform jacket from Doe and slipping into it.

"Aw man," Foe pouted, but dare not argue the choice of eighteen year-old Steven. Plus, the jacket was the same as everyone else's, being a uniform.

"Come on; you know how pesky the scientists get when we're not on time for breakfast," Michel said, climbing out of bed.

"Okay," Brittney cheered, scrambling with Foe to get into some clothes.

Let us pause to describe our characters thus far.

Michel; age eighteen, fluffed ash-grey hair that he kept short, above his ears, and red-and-grey mix colored eyes. He is the unofficial leader of the lot.

Steven; age eighteen as well, his lavender hair is neatly combed into a tiny pony tail in the back and he has almond-shaped silver eyes, tinged with godl, behind the small spectacles that he wears on account of his poor eye sight. The sight in his left eye is leagues worse than that in his right eye. He is also the tallest of the lot.

Foe; age nine with black, curly hair, deeply tan skin, and sparking indigo eyes that turn maroon when he's angry. He is Brittney's best friend and a prankster around his comrades.

Brittney; also age nine with blond hair streaked with black and blue, breaking her other-wise angelic exterior with the pale skin and large, sweet pale blue eyes that had a habit of turning an unnerving scarlet when she is frightened.

These four children were just four of the total six children who shared the same small, cramped room. They each took up a bed of a bunk, with their clothing and personal belongings stashed in drawers in the walls or flung upon the floor as they wished. A large oval mirror hung on the wall between the two sets of bunk beds (Foe and Brittney shared a bed). The last and sixth child had a room of his own for security reasons.

More on that later.

Michel and Steven helped Foe and Brittney find suitable uniforms, pretending that they were different for courtesy's sake, before exiting their small room. Outside, a massive, grey-blue hall met them. No music was played over the intercom, no cheery conversations could be heard in the distance; only the empty rush of wind through the air conditioning. Steven naturally fell in place to the right of and behind Michel while Brittney and Foe followed behind him, allowing Michel to lead the way. Years of life in the Breaker Labs had taught them that Michel, while temperamental at times, was always the best as meeting any sort of sudden problem or confrontation, as they had had such incidents before.

They soon came to a vast, open, empty hall with numerous small round tables around three great big long ones in the center. The buffet counter of the kitchen was on the far end of the hall, and a couple small clusters of scientists ate at their tables. The children assumed that there had been a time, back before they were born, when so many tables were needed, but such a time, for some reason, had passed.

The final two of their comrades was already sat at the end of one of the long tables, eating their standard, usual breakfast of beacon, eggs, toast/biscuit, and milk/tea/coffee. The female of the two looked up, then smirked upon seeing Michel.

"Well, well, well," she sneered. "Look who _finally_ got up and smelled the coffee!"

"Good morning, Samantha," Michel growled between clenched teeth. "Kindly give me half an hour head start so that I may properly devour and digest my breakfast before I _vomit_ it all over you."

"Good morning, Effort 137," Steven said to Samantha's male eating partner. "Up again early, I see?"

Without turning his head, Effort 137 nodded and continued to eat his biscuit with small, precise bites.

Now we shall describe these last two people.

Samantha; age sixteen with long, dark red hair, trim and tall in body, and supporting a pair of almond-shaped eyes with reddish mahogany irises and ruby red pupils. Her canines were also sharper than what a normal human would think natural.

Effort 137; age fourteen and appears to have never spoken in his entire life. His hair was straight and ear-length, in the same style, but shorter, than Steven's. His eyes he always his behind round-cornered, single-lens plastic visor, and eschewed the other children's regular grey and white uniform by always wearing a long, dark blue overcoat that reached clear to his booted ankles, with a stiff, up-turned collar, Chinese in fashion, with silver-lined elbow and shoulder patches and lines along the trim of his collar, coat bottom, and the buckles crossing over the abdomen. What made Effort 137 even more unique was that he was the only child to ever object against his human name (initially Roger), by refusing to answer to it until people realized that he only responded to Effort 137; his scientific name. He was also the only child to have the ability to eschew the usual uniform with his own unique outfit, as he would refuse to eat or do anything unless he was able to wear the costume some guard had brought to base one Halloween one day and thus this costume was repaired and retailored once every year.

A final thing that put Effort 137 above the others was that he had his own room. Do to the origins of his father, the scientists of Breaker Labs feared that a sudden nightmare or emotional outburst would be of a consequentially fatal effect on the other children, or worse, an awakening affect on the fathers. See, Effort 137 had powers. These powers extended to a physical manipulation of electronics and machines of all sorts and telepathy, but the scientists of Breaker Labs only knew of his telepathy. Had they known of his machine abilities, chances would be that they would lock him up and never let him out again. Hence, he was locked in a specially reinforced bedroom every night to sleep and the Efforts protected his telepathy secret with their lives.

These six children lived in Breaker Labs somewhere with in the Sahara Desert. They had rarely been outside the enormous underground labs, and when they did, it was only to see the world from a distance. They had grown up in Breaker Labs, with only each other as companionship, and they had learned, exercised, and played there for as long as they could remember. Their mother was a mass of donated DNA from anonymous sources, and their fathers were locked with in enormous preservative-filled tubes, which they were forbidden from ever seeing.

The scientists were their doctors and their guards were their guards. The adults rarely, if ever, interacted personally with the children, as if they were some sort of plague or social suicide. It was a lonely life. Between their classes and their exercising sessions (never any fight training; it, too, was forbidden), they had much free time often burned watching the TV set in the wall of their tiny room so that they could see the outside world as best they could. Again, it was a lonely life, and thus, they were close to one another…which was the only reason why Michel hadn't killed Samantha a long time ago.

"Fine, fine," Samantha sighed, sipping at her coffee smugly. "If you can't take the heat…"

"Let me get some coffee and I'll show you heat," Michel snarled, stalking off towards the breakfast buffet counter.

A while later, with breakfast eaten and their trays disposed of, the kids sat at their table, having a free day today, and Michel was in a full-blown argument with Samantha.

"What do you mean I suck at chess!?" Michel yelled.

"I _mean_ that you always _loose_!" Samantha shouted back.

"How can you tell that? You always quite right before I capture your King!"

"I have things more important to do!"

"Yeah, like go finding something you're _good_ at, Orphan Anne!"

"_Orphan Anne!?"_ Samantha screeched, insulted to be connected with the red-haired orphan sweet heart.

Suddenly, someone cleared their throat and they both fell silent to look at who had done it.

The person was a middle aged man with a thin black beard and swept-back black hair, streaked with grey that was tied up in a small bun in the back. He wore a dark grey turtle neck sweat shirt and jeans under his lab coat. This was Dr. Morguchi; age 56, brown-eyed, and main scientist of Breaker Labs and the children's main care taker. There was little love to loose between them.

"Come on; we're going out today," he stated grudgingly.

Brittney and Foe cheered, leaping from their seats and shooting past Dr. Moriguchi towards the garage. Samantha and Michel exchanged final glares, a promise that their argument was not finished, and got up, following the expressionless Effort 137 and the calm and collected Steven after Moriguchi and the youngest ones towards the garage.


	3. Trip Out

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Chapter 2: Trip Out**

Half an hour later, the children were in a cruiser, which flew quickly and almost noiselessly through the air over the country side. Finally, one of the wall panels slid aside, revealing a large glass window over looking the outside world. The kids eagerly collected on the red, inward-facing, low-back chair on that side of the cruiser to get up against the window and look down at the land below, ooh-ing and ah-ing at the sights.

A sparkling city was the magical scene of this oh-so-rare outing. Towering, sparkling sky scrapers dominated the city, overshadowing neglected brick buildings and small, bland-looking apartment complexes. Sudden expanses of emerald green showed how the city was frequently broken up by parks, which were, in turn, spotted with sparkling blue and brown lakes and ponds in which people swam or people milled about. The bright spark of white on the waters signaled the presence of majestic swans. On one particularly large lawn, where a concert was being set up, they saw a large orange and blue truck be relieved of its cargo, then suddenly stand up as it transformed into a robot, who proceeded to help set up the lights' frames. The kids exchanged looks, mentally exchanging one question:

_Was Sam down there?_

They saw the scene of a serious accident at an intersection, they saw a bank be robbed and a near by Transformer fall into car mode, collecting his human accomplices before speeding off with numerous cop cars on its chase. With much shouting on the younger children's' behalf, their floating cruiser followed the chase until the two leading cop cruisers suddenly leaped up, transforming into their robot modes to tackle the get away car Transformer. The humans with in the fleeing get away car barely managed to jump out of the fight in time. As the children and their care taker scientist were flown through out the city, looking down on normal life, golden sun light spilled into their confined cruiser cabin, sharing its bright love even with them. But nothing could fool them from seeing the truth, as it was made stronger by the absence of the city's voice and smells with in their cruiser; they were in here, prisoners, and the world was out there, free and oblivious.

The trip ended all too soon.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Brittney was saying, bouncing in her steps with each "hey" as the children and Dr. Moriguchi departed the garage later back at Breaker Labs once more. "Did-did-did you see the concert being set up? Do you think it was a rock concert? Can we go see it, Mr. Moriguchi? Do you think Sam's there, somewhere? He liked rock music, didn't he-"  
"No, he did not, Ms. Brittney," Dr. Moriguchi suddenly said in a loud, strict voice. "And I recommend never speaking of him again unless you want to be capitally punished."

The glow of childish excitement left Brittney's face as she stopped bouncing and hid behind Michel, one little hand reaching up to clutch Michel's as tears came to her blue eyes. The blue in her eyes began to rapidly drain out and become red.

"Now, you have the day off," Mr. Moriguchi informed, adgusting the collar of his lab coat. "I recommend that you go to your rooms and meditate."

"How fares the children, Moriguchi?"

Every child, Effort 137 included, bristled at the presence of the new, cold voice. It belonged to a tall, lanky man in his fifties with short cropped grey hair and black eyes with a large hooked nose. This was Dr. Condor, a scientist from the originals who had started the project and the cruelest. Legend had it that he killed the other original scientists to usher in his own caliber of men to try forbidden practices and experiments that were otherwise forbidden. Each child could clearly remember every minute of every trip they had ever had with this man, who would proceed to experiment on them to discover the different properties between them and humans. The most painful experiment thus far was electro-shock therapy to see if they were more or less sensitive to electricity compared to a full-blooded human or a full-formed Transformer. He never told the children what the results were or when he would be seeing them again, which made every unexpected trip a torture session of his poking, prodding, and medicines to "learn" stuff. He was the most hated scientist on base for the children, rivaled only by the harsh-tongued Moriguchi.

"They fare well, sir," Moriguchi said warmly. "What brings you to this part of the labs?"

"I would like to have a session with Michel, if he is not too busy."

Before Michel could even open his mouth to answer, Moriguchi undermined his ability as a free thinking individual to answer for him, _shoving_ the teenager towards Dr. Condor as he did.

"Oh, of _course_ he's not busy!" he exclaimed, as if it were as ludicrous thought. "Here you go!"

"Thank you, Moriguchi. Michel, come with me."

Michel reluctantly followed Dr. Condor, glancing over his shoulder at the other children as they were hustled away by Moriguchi. Their sympathies were reflected full in their eyes.


	4. Unfairness and Fathers

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Chapter 3: Unfairness and Fathers**

Ten minutes later, Michel sat without his uniform jacket or shirt on the edge of an examination table in Dr. Condor's office. The entire room, from its glass-front cupboards to its counters to its strange, dentist's-chair-like chair in the corner, was completely colorless except for a black and brown poster showing the front of some concentration camp on the wall directly in front of Michel. _"Work will set you free"_ was what the pale yellow words across the bottom said. There seemed to have been more to the poster, probably a paragraph talking about the atrocities of concentration camps, but it had been cut smoothly off.

_This guy has issues,_ Michel thought, trying to distract himself from the nervously shifting fear awaking with in him.

Dr. Condor entered the office now; he didn't torture the kids with long waiting games. He preferred to get straight to work that way he had more time to work with them. Michel saw the large injection needle Dr. Condor held, filled with a clear, pale blue substance, and his heart fell into his stomach like an exhausted person into bed. Michel swallowed the lump in his throat before speaking.

"What is that?" he asked.

"Oh, a little bit of this, a little bit of that; just sit back while we see it go through," Dr. Condor said simply as he injected the substance into Michel's limp, unhappy arm.

Cold, numbing pain instantly filled Michel's arm, spreading as it went through his blood stream. He gasped and writhed in pain as Dr. Condor barely suppressed a smirk and began to take notes on a clipboard.

"_What_ is this?" Michel gasped through the pain.

"Coolants, you know, anti-freeze?" Dr. Condor responded, using the tone one would use to explain a classic movie. "The fact that you haven't keeled over in death yet is proof that, do to your parenting compounds, you can ingest that which would kill us regular humans! See? It's fading already, isn't it?"

"Y-Yeah," Michel grunted, massaging his arms even as the cold pain began to fade.

"Ah, so not only can you with stand anti-freeze being directly injected into you, but it becomes apart of your body without ailment!" Dr. Condor said cheerfully, cruel mirth twinkling in his dark eyes at the results that could have other wise resulted in death. "Now…" He opened a drawer and drew out a quart of oil. He shook it at Michel. "Let's see what direct ingestion of _this_ will do to you?"

"He made you do _what_!?" Samantha yelled.

"Drink oil, anti-freeze, braking fluid, and injected me with anti-freeze," Michel replied.

"Is he _insane_??" Samantha screeched.

"She's right, for once, Michel," Steven agreed. "He could have poisoned you."

"Well, I'm not dead yet, and that's all that matters to them, isn't it?" Michel asked bitterly. "As long as we stay good and silent, they don't care how we feel. Just like when Brittney asked about Sam."

"I don't see why he has to be so mean about it!" Brittney pouted as the children squeezed into the double-bunk bed bedroom. "I just wanna know if anyone else thinks that Sam is still out there!"

"I'm sure Sam's out there somewhere," Samantha assured Brittney, adgusting the little girl's grey and white uniform collar. "The Sam I knew was far too crafty to be caught by any scientists or police or dead beats. Don't worry, Brittney; I'm sure that Sam is somewhere out there right now, rocking out to some wild song or another and making his name in the back allies."

"Hey! Hey! Our parents are on!" Foe suddenly yelled as he turned on the TV.

The children all instantly turned around and sat or lay down on their bunk beds as the mirror's surface darkened and became a TV screen. T was rare that their fathers would be shown on TV, as people were still a tad bit touchy at the war that had ended over twenty years ago. A square appeared in the dark oval and sure enough, on the History Channel, there was a documentary of the Autobot-Decepticon War. The starting scene was that of numerous Earthling machines throughout the ages, starting in WWI and making their way up to the modern day military, as the female narrator spoke in a soft, smooth voice.

_"For as long as humans can remember, they've always warred with technology, always striving to make a bigger, more powerful weapon than their foes. But nothing could prepare the humans for the foreign warring technological race of Transformers; the great Autobots versus the evil Decepticons-"_

"Mute it, Foe," Michel ordered. "I hate listening to the buttering up crap they smooth onto the Autobots."

"I would if I could, Mike," Foe chuckled. "But we only got on-off and channel changers."

"Blast it," Steven sighed, as if this were new news to him.

Thus the kids dealt with the narrator's biased descriptions of the Autobots and Decepticons. The narrator, how ever, was soon forgotten when familiar faces began to appear.

First; a red and grey jet was shown destroying a bus.

_"Starscream, second in command of the Decepticons, particularly hated the human race…"_

"There's my man!" Samantha cheered. "The stupid screwball himself, Screamer!"

The TV image switched to that of a grey robot with cruel red optics fearlessly shooting at an Autobot with his black arm cannon.

_"…However, Starscream was always at odds with the leader of the Decepticons, Megatron…"_

"There he is," Michel said with a small smile. "_My_ guy."

"Easy to see why you two hate each other," Foe joked.

Now a dark blue and black jet appeared and transformed on screen, almost identical to Starscream. He was gladly kicking the metal out of some Autobot or another; a yellow one with small horns on their head. A purple and black Transformer appeared behind the blue-and-black Seeker and joined in the kicking.

_"Thundercracker was one of the Decepticons' best Seekers and a close partner with the mischievous, teleporting Skywarp."_

"Daddy!" Brittney cheered.

"Hey, cool, hey, dad!" Foe laughed, waving uselessly at the screen.

Much later in the documentary, a purple, one-eyed robot appeared side-by-side with a dark blue and grey robot that appeared part cassette player and surrounded by a part of smaller robots; his face was hidden by a silver mask and a single red visor.

_"Of all the Decepticons, Shockwave was the most genius scientist, rivaled only by Soundwave, the telepathic communications officer who commanded a small army of Cassetticons stored with in his chest compartment-"_

Steven did not burst out cheerfully; he merely stared at one-eyed transformer called Shockwave. Finally, his mouth moved in a close-lipped smile as his eye lids drooped low over his eyes in an expression of smug pride and satisfaction. Effort 137 merely tilted his head to the side.

The children sat watching the documentary for the next three hours, watching the Decepticons and Autobots battle it out over years before the humans finally became pissed and killed all the Decepticons that the Autobots couldn't capture. But now, the children were extremely grim.

_"…As far as reports go, the six main Decepticons mentioned at the beginning of this documentary were ripped to pieces by the enraged human forces, and not even their remains have been discovered-"_

"Foe, turn it off," Michel ordered.

Sadly, Foe gladly pressed a button on the side of the mirror, abruptly muting the screen even as it went black and the reflective surface of the mirror came back to itself.

In the following silence, Samantha suddenly talked.

"Hey, wanna go see the guys?"

"But-but-but the guards will hurt us if we try!" Brittney gasped.

"Which is why it's a good thing that it's the third Tuesday of the month," Samantha said slyly. "No one goes near that part of the labs while those icky anti-bacteria gases are being sprayed! They'd rather face a wet dog!"

"You know, Samantha," Michel said, standing up. "That may actually be your first good idea ever."

"Shut up, Michel," Samantha growled.


	5. Prison Visit

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Chapter 4: Prison Visit**

A little while later and the party found themselves entering a rarely-visited part of the labs. When they had come here before, they had been promptly chased off by the troops of guards patrolling the hall ways here. This was the Forbidden Zone; the Labs where they kept the most dangerous and important equipment. The children would fall into extreme danger and trouble for showing up here. But they went on, none the less, abusing this once-a-month chance when the guards and scientists evacuated this area due to its extremely stinky and allergies-prone cleansing gas to eliminate any and all potential bacteria that could not other wise be cleaned.

The children were able to bear the stench at first, but soon, their faces began to scrunch up in disgust, even calm Steven. Effort 137 even grimaced and zipped his Chinese collar straight up to his nose, placing hand to his face to push the filtering cloth over his nose. Brittney and Foe began to hold their noses instantly and their eyes began to water. Jane's face twisted in a sneer of disgust as she pinched her nose shut. Stevens drew a handkerchief from his pocket and coughed into it in an attempt to snuff out the stench. Only Michel remained unaffected by it externally; only extreme discomfort in his eyes revealed that the indescribably awful stench was affecting him.

Thankfully, though, they came across an enormous set of double sliding doors with a smaller, human-sized door set into it. The enormous doors for had been for a time when the equipment with in this room had needed Transformer assistance to be moved and operated. Sense then, the enormous doors had probably never opened again. A large red sign attached to the door forbade unauthorized entry or suffer a horrific fate. To forbid unwanted visitors further, a small number pad with a hand print scanner was attached to the wall beside the door. The children exchanged eager looks, then looked at Effort 137.

Nodding in acknowledgment, Effort 137 stepped forward and placed his hand, not on the scanning pad, but over the numbers. The others couldn't tell whether or not he closed his eyes through the visor, but Effort 137 didn't need to. Behind the visor, his eyes lost focus as he went somewhere with in himself. As he went inside himself, he heard his comrades' thoughts, like little whispers, floating in the air around him.

_Hope he can do it, hope he can do it,_ Samantha was thinking.

_Eww, icky, icky, come on 137-ah man, like rotten eggs in the toilet come on Effort-_ Brittney's brain babbled.

_Maybe if I knocked him in the back as a prank or no he needs concentration if only I could gather this stench in an ooze ball and throw it at Samantha,_ Foe's brain raced like a little hamster around pranks.

_Easy does it, Steven, let the man do his job,_ Stevens was telling himself to be patient with Effort 137.

_I know you can do this, Effort 137,_ Michel suddenly thought, deliberately clear and loud. Michel, at least, had remembered Effort 137's secret of his abilities. _But make sure we can actually have time to see our fathers-the guards won't be gone long._

And sure enough, stretching his conscious farther, Effort 137 could hear the distant thoughts of the guards and scientists. Most were thinking about sex, money, or getting out of the labs.

_Where are those gas masks; we can get back to duty early and get some extra pay,_ a guard in a storage room was thinking.

Knowing this, Effort 137 turned back to the lock and instantly got a mental feeling of it. It was pathetically simple and a mere command from him had the locks of the door opening obediently and opening for the children.

"Hurry," Michel told the others. "We can't push our time."

Michel led the way in, followed by Steve, Samantha, Effort 137, Foe, and Brittney.

The room with in was massive, rivaled only by the main hall in size. A raised platform to their left had a large control board station complete with many computer screens, monitors, keyboards, and all sorts of intricate switches. Along the wall in front of them were enormous machines that they recognized as fluid circulation tanks and energon engines; extremely complicated, expensive machines that made energon, the Transformers' main source of survival. To their right… six enormous, fifty-foot tall tubes with their fathers.

The children stared at the tubes, particularly at their own fathers. Without really noticing it, they silently moved apart to stand in front of each tube tank that carried their parent.

On the far left facing the tube tanks was the lavender-colored, one-optic robot scientist Shockwave. Steven stood in front of Shockwave's tank, looking at all the green metal preservatives the machine man floated in with large tubes of pink and purple energon stuck into him in seemingly random, but key points to keep him alive. The golden bulb gave no sign of life, but some how, Steven felt it. Hands clasped behind his back, he closed his eyes. Yes, deep in his chest, he felt something flickering in time with Shockwave. He stood there, putting his mental calculations and philosophies aside to simply enjoy this strange feeling.

The Transformer to the right of Shockwave was Thundercracker. Brittney looked up at the shadowed, sleeping metal face, turned at an angle so that the head was using the right shoulder partially as a pillow. Brittney tilted her head curiously to the side, staring up at the hansom sleeping metal giant. She could think of nothing else to do, so she sat down, curling her knees up to her chin, and stared up at the Seeker.

Right of Thundercracker, in the middle tube tank, was Megatron himself. Even while trapped in this liquid coma prison, he still grimaced in hate and determination, his off-line red optics glaring straight ahead of himself at the wall across from him and beyond. His fists were clenched in anger and his infamous right black arm cannon was in evidence; either the repairmen had repaired his weapon, against all their hatred lines towards him, or whatever fluids that had repaired him had seemed to have been manipulated by his own conscious to recreate the cannon that had been ripped off and destroyed in the final show down he had with humans. Michel smiled up at Megatron. He and the other children knew very well that if the Decepticons ever awoke that they, especially Megatron, might kill the kids in disgust. But even with that thought looming over his head like the body of the infamous war leader, Michel felt admiration for the mech. He had wanted the universe, and the universe had said no. He had almost had it, and only a bunch of ticked off flesh worms that had started life out as whinny, blanket-wrapped grubs had taken his future crown away. What power and glory! Michel was proud to be this mech's son, abomination or no.

Beside Megatron, second-to last on the far left, was Skywarp. Even in his coma, the prankster had a huge grin splattered across his purple and black face. Foe spun around on a heel absent mindedly before looking up at the Seeker and releasing a huge grin of his own across his face. He waved cheerfully.

"Hi, there!" he called, as if expecting an answer.

The last person on the left was Soundwave.

Effort 137 stared expressionlessly up at the telepathic communications officer, his face as unreadable as the Transformer's. He wanted that red visor to suddenly light up and have that head look down on him. He wanted those metal feet to kick out of their prison and land in front of Effort 137. He wanted that giant robot to lean over him and _judge what he was._ Was he human or was he Transformer? Was he allowed to live? If so, then would he allow Effort 137 to be one of his creatures, like the Cassetticons? And if not, would he please destroy Effort 137 with the massive shoulder cannon of his? Effort 137 wanted to encounter his father.

Stepping forward, Effort 137 gently placed a hand on the cold surface of the tube tank, as if he were touching his own father through the glass and green fluids. Taking a silent, unnoticed deep breath in through his mouth, Effort 137 strengthened his telepathic ability as best he could and reached up towards Soundwave.

_Father…_ he whispered.

Then, much to his shock, an all more powerful, wiser, stronger, older mental force reached down, catching up his own tiny, puny mind and holding it captive. Externally, he emitted a tiny gasp and stiffened up. Foe looked over at him curiously.

Something like a grunt of pain came from with in Soundwave's mind and his body shuttered as electricity zipped down the wires connecting to him and to his body, crackling briefly over his body. The other kids looked over, noticing the unusual movement. Effort 137 understood; the programs keeping the Decepticons alive zapped them into submission if they attempted action.

_I will get you out of here, father,_ Effort 137 promised.

Soundwave's conscious slipped from Effort 137's and the boy's knees suddenly gave out from under him. A strong arm caught him around the waist and he looked up to see that it was Michel, staring up at Soundwave. Effort 137 made a brief telepathic gesture and Michel understood.

"We have to rescue them," he stated.


	6. Breaking Point

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Warning: Gonna a tincy bit nasty here, so head's up.**

**Chapter 5: Breaking Point**

"First of all," Steven said later, back in their room and a shower to purify them selves of the cleaning gas's stench. "We must observe the consequences and reasons of our rescuing our fathers."

"Are you saying that you're against it, Steve?" Samantha growled.

"No," Steven replied. "I am simply making sure that we know what we are doing. Permission to do so, Michel?"

"Permission granted," Michel agreed.

"Woha, woha, woha!" Samantha exclaimed. "Why are you asking _him_ for permission??"

"Because he's not so hot headed," Foe said simply. "And his daddy was the leader. So shut up."

Samantha bristled in indignation, but remained silent.

"Speak, Steven," Michel ordered Steven, "What are your thoughts on releasing out fathers?"

"Should we succeed in freeing our fathers from their prisons," Steven began in his cultured, calm voice. "A many number of things may happen; few will be good for us, much less the other people in these laboratories. We are all aware of Megatron's and Starscream's notorious tempers, and surely they will seek revenge for their imprisonment. Once they have finished decimating this place, it is incredibly likely that Megatron will want to resume his crusade, and Starscream will challenge him for leadership. The others will likely follow Megatron where ever he may choose. But as to us…"

"We're Abominations," Michel went on, using their own private group name to finish his sentence. "They'd probably be ashamed of us and terminate us on the spot. I, for one, do not find that an unpleasant thought."

"Are you _insane_!?" Samantha yelled, jumping to her feet. "You _want_ to die?? What is _wrong_ with you???"

"Well forgive me if I find this life a _sucky_ one, Samantha," Michel snapped. "But you've heard those scientists and guards talking about us behind our backs, how we're _'their_ kids' and we're never allowed to leave because we might become like _'their_ fathers'. These complete humans have despised us our whole lives, in spite of being just like them in every way, and only added insult to injury by never doing anything about it other than glaring down their up-turned noses at us. At least our _fathers_ would have the decency to show openly that they hated us and _do_ something about it. All because we're freaks conceived between some human DNA, an incubator, and the universe's most notorious foes. I don't know about you, but this existence is one that is easy to terminate.

"But, in spite of it being easy," Michel added with a tired sigh. "It would be a decision of defeat and that is not what we want. Point is; if we should release our fathers, I am in support of what ever they do to their captors. We can attempt to become their allies in some way."

"So… what are you saying?" Samantha asked. "If we free the Decepticon elites, we should just go with their decisions?"

"Precisely," Michel replied. "Whether we die of old age and misery with in these laboratory walls, or die young and with closure, we have just to entrust fate and hope that our destinies are good ones."

- - - - - - - - - - -

The next day, the children were in a large white room out fitted with one colorless plastic and metal desk for each of them. At the front of the room was a large white desk for the teacher, out fitted with a white computer. A black board donned the wall behind the desk; a stark, spooky window of blackness set against the emotionless, dull white room. The kids sat at their desks, only the grey hemming on their identical full-body uniforms and their vividly colored hair and skin tones marking them out of the shadows. The pants of their uniforms were tight, flaring out over the bottom over thick, heavy grey and white sneakers. Their tops were white tee shirts covered with a snug, long-sleeved jacket that had a raised collar and it closed down one side.

It was a very dull class room.

Finally, Dr. Moriguchi entered, clad in his usual dark blue turtle neck and black jeans under a lab coat. Behind him followed the nameless teacher; a woman whose age could not be determined with her bland brown hair tied up in a tight bun that refused to allow one strand of hair freedom. Her sharp, calculating brown eyes hid behind a pair of sharp-cornered, half-oval spectacles. She always wore her lab coat buttoned over herself, as if to protect herself from the germs she was supposed to teach. On some days, like today, she even wore rubber gloves, as if she were handling toxic substances. She peered coldly over her spectacles at the children as she set a file down in front of herself as the desk and Dr. Moriguchi took his usual spot beside it, in front of the class.

_They're incredibly dull people, aren't they?_ Michel thought. _No unique body features, vivid coloring, firm metal parts… How dull._

This was not a new revelation; he just rehearsed these observations to keep himself from simply dropping his head on his desk in exasperation.

The adults were not ready to start the class yet. Dr. Moriguchi proceeded to polish his glasses as the nameless teacher shifted through the papers in her file. Samantha sighed, slouching in her chair with her arms crossed, as she rolled her eyes in exasperation. Brittney slumped over her desk, one hand placed on her head in boredom as the other rested on her resting arm and her feet kicked in a child's way of showing restless boredom. Steven looked around, as if expecting something to happen. Effort 137 sat at his desk, not letting any one know how he felt about the usual ritual of pompous, annoying delay in the learning process.

A small buzz started; a fly had come in through the air ventilation shaft. Everyone glanced at the noisy intruder before going back to their silent waiting or dilly-dallying. Steven's silver and gold eyes latched onto the tiny insect, judging what kind of species of fly it was, how its flying pattern was chosen, where it may have come from, and what its DNA structure was. Just as he began to wonder what sort of ailments it had, it landed on the desk, where it was instantly smashed under the file folder of the grim-faced, ageless female teacher that had taught them their lessons beside Dr. Moriguchi for as long as they could remember.

"Come _on_!" Foe groaned, turning his face towards the ceiling before slamming his forehead on the desk in front of him.

"If you will express some _patients_, Feodric," Dr. Moriguchi snarled at him, as if he had been going on like this for the past hour, "Then you would find that these classes would start and end faster than you would expect!"

"But we've been doing this same ritual ever sense we were _four!"_ Samantha exclaimed, raising her hands in show. "We show up on time, you turn up ten minutes later, we wait another ten, _then_ we start lessons and-"

"Don't talk back to me, Samantha," Dr. Moriguchi growled. "This is to teach you patients."

"It's a rather annoying and stupid way to teach patients, Dr. Moriguchi," Michel added in. "A fresh way to learn life lessons once in a while would be useful."

"Yeah!" Brittney added in. "Like if we wait quietly enough, you'll take us out more! Or get us some ice cream!"

"Or brownies!" Foe said excitedly.

"Or just being able to watch some action movies once in a while would be great," Samantha said with a dreamy sigh. All these things the children listed they were exposed to only once a year on Christmas. One serving of sweets each and one action movie.

"We are not going to teach you life lessons through _spoiling_ you," Dr. Moriguchi growled. "Now, if you will all settle down that way we may begin the lesson, we may move on. Starting with math…"

The kids noticeably slumped in despair. A thing that particularly bugged them was that while they had been taught to read and write and practiced them every other day, they were not allowed to have their own text books or even note books to write notes in, for fear that they would start making notes and weapon diagrams for world domination or something of the sort. At first, Michel had thought that it was because the lab was running on a tight budget… until he saw Dr. Moriguchi wearing an extremely expensive watch once. Then he realized it was just because the Breaker Labs didn't think the children worthy to have anything of their own except their uniforms.

After the math, its quiz, English and its quiz, and classic literature and its quiz, came the most testy subject of all: history. It was actually a rather fun subject to be taught, as it was very much like an educational story, and the closest thing the children had ever had to a bed time story ever. How ever, the children, particularly Brittney and Foe, asked deeper questions than just "what date was this on". They asked about ethics; it helped them get into the minds of the people they were being taught about and had they been human, this would have been a highly valued trait. As Efforts, how ever, it was a meddlesom trait.

And today's lesson was of the Autobots and Decepticons. It was going to be a brief lesson, due to the origins of the children, but even a brief lesson, they would soon see, could cause all sorts of troubles.

"…Skywarp was among the lowest of the Decepticons; teleporting away from their blows at the last minute, only to strike them from behind-"

"But isn't that the same as just dodging a punch and getting a hit in while the other dude's open?" Foe suddenly asked. "It's just a little more weird. I don't think he was low-just fast."

"Feodric," Dr. Moriguchi said sternly. "You will accept the details of the lesson without question. Is that understood, young man?"

"Yes, sir," Foe sighed, although the way he rolled his eyes said that he was in disagrement.

A few minutes later, the lesson stopped again.

"The Decepticons were ruthless and cold-hearted, killing all who stood in their way and even those who simply looked fun to kill. They ransacked and stole from earthling factories and frequently struck at civilian towns for military practices-"

"Sir, isn't it true that the Decepticons were stealing from the factories to make Energon, which they were in desperate need of?" Samantha suddenly inquired.

"Yes, that is true," Dr. Moriguchi said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"Then it's not as evil as you think; they were simply stealing the fuel they needed to survive."

"They killed hundreds of innocent humans in the process!" Dr. Moriguchi snarled. "Hence, they were evil!"

"So what if the humans died?" Samantha yelled, suddenly standing up in her chair. "If they were too dumb or too slow to get out of the way, then they're just another number in the thousands that die every day from natural and unnatural causes-"

"You better sit your butt back down, young lady!" Moriguchi ordered.

"Or what?" Samantha yelled, raising her arms in show. "What are you going to do? _Spank_ me?"

An unhealthy glint entered Dr. Moriguchi's eye then, and no one missed the quick glance he ran up and down Samantha's trim body, toned by a sugarless diet and a life time of working an hour in the gym her entire life.

"That… would be a pleasant thing," he hissed.

Effort 137 did not react. The woman did not look up from her desk. Everybody else, how ever, reared back in shock. Michel felt his heart grow cold and his face twist up in sheer disgust. Even Brittney and Foe, as young as they were, stuck their tongues out and leaned back in their seats in disgust. There had been times in the past when Moriguchi's true nature was suspect; he would have Samantha in the doctor's check up room for too long with little to nothing on. He would pat her unnecessarily in these examinations, and sometimes, even massage her. She tried telling one of the adults when this first started happening in her blooming age of thirteen, but everyone, like the woman at the desk now, turned a blind eye to it. To them, she was nothing more than a test tube lab rat that they had to take care of to keep getting paid by Breaker Labs' numerous benefactors. It was soon after these examinations started that Samantha made herself a hard, snappy girl.

This was the first time Moriguchi had ever dared show his lust in the open.

"Oh _god_!" Samantha wailed, stepping back from her desk. "What kind of hideous old man _are_ you!?"

"A lonely one," Moriguchi replied with a nasty grin on his face.

"You _monster!_" Brittney cried out.

Acting suddenly, Moriguchi back-handed the little girl right out of her seat, making Foe spring to her rescue and sitting Steven and Michel spring to their feet. The woman finally looked up from her paper work, watching the display.

"_I'm_ not the monster, _you_ are you little hybrid freak _brat_!" Moriguchi snarled down at the sobbing Brittney. "Now why don't you all shut up and sit down before I have to lock you all up in separate rooms for solitary confinement?"

"You can't do this to us!" Foe yelled through the tears streaming out of his dark eyes as he held the sobbing Brittney. "We're just kids!"

"No, you're not kids," Moriguchi snapped. "You're _Efforts_; Transformer-human _freaks_ that some ass hole, long dead now, thought could bring the human and Transformer race closer together. Although why that _idiot_ wanted to make kids from _Decepticons_ is beyond me! So as long as you live, you will, and always _will_ be, walking slime balls from a test tube, stamped with numbers and parentless except for some machine and some rusting metal _dolls_ floating in metal preservatives and energon feeding tubes-"

Something in Michel snapped then.

The cold, tight bond with in him broke and something long since hidden and tied down burst forth, filling his body with new information long forgotten. It was diluted from lack of use and from a lack of something more, but it served the purpose. Michel leaped forward and before he knew it, one of his fists connected with Moriguchi's jaw with a hard knock, snapping his head back and throwing him down onto the floor. Everybody froze, all their jaws (with an exception of Effort 137's) dropped open in shock.

"Don't _ever_ hurt one of my people again_," _Michel hissed.

The woman leaped to her feet and bolted towards the door before any of the kids could react. She flung open the door and screamed out into the hall.

"Guards! The Efforts are attacking! Guards-!"

"Shut up, lady," Samantha snarled, leaping forward and rearing one of her feet up to kick the woman in the head and knocking her out cold. "I'm tired of you."

Two guards bolted into the room. Steven moved forward and knocked one out, punching at his exposed neck and crushing the throat while Samantha slammed and elbow into the other guard's neck as the other hand stole the gun from his numbing hands. Where had these fighting skills come from? Who knew? They exchanged looks, the guards down, and then they looked at Michel. Foe and Brittney and Effort 137 looked at Michel as well. At first, Michel was confused at what they wanted. Then he realized what it was.

_They want me to tell them what to do,_he realized. _Even Samantha. But why-? Oh, because my father led their fathers and hence, like father to son, I must lead them… Can I do it?_

But had he ever done anything else? Through out their entire lives, he had always led them. They were never far from him, even after Samantha had finished screaming her head off at him, or Foe and Brittney had pranked him into his roaring rage, they had been close. He always led the way when they walked through the halls together, like a pack of wolves following the alpha male because it was safer to travel in a pack than as a soloist. He was their leader; always had been, always is, and always will be. It was just more evident now.

"Come on," he grunted, leading the way out the door. "I think it's time that our fathers awake from their slumber."


	7. Reawakening Of Legends

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Chapter 6: Reawakening of Legends**

Michel led the way; not running, but taking long, quick strides. Samantha and Steven were on either side of him; Samantha with the stolen guard's gun and Steven with a make-shift butcher-knife and window pole spear that he had stolen from the kitchen and the Breaker Laboratory's scientist wreck-room. Behind them, Effort 137 took quick steps to keep pace, his usual expressionless outward experience belaying the beating, excited heart with in him. Behind _him_, Brittney and Foe ran after the others, with Foe greatly supporting Brittney; she was still dizzy from the sudden blood loss from being shot by the guards.

Then there it was; the laboratory doors. The two heavily-armed guards standing outside perked up in surprise at having a challenge, then moved to black the children's' way, their guns bared.

"Halt!" one of the guards barked. "You're not supposed to be here!"

"Prison visit, gentlemen," Michel stated, darting forward and knocking both men out with a firm punch to the jaw for each of them. "Remain unconscious if you do not wish for the inmates to end your lives."

Steven raised his make-shift spear, drawing his arm back with the elbow straight, then swung it, stabbing it into the keypad lock with a shower of sparks. Samantha opened the door and mercilessly shot out the knees of the first monitoring scientists and guards she saw.

"Do your stuff, 137!" she yelled over the shocked shouts and screams of pains from the scientists and guards. "Hurry!"

Effort 137 bolted forward, weaving around the ten or so scientists and guards that were monitoring the Decepticons as he made his way towards the control panel. When people tried to stop him, Michel struck out with his fists and feet, using untaught fighting skills. Steven wielded his make-shift spear, whacking away cumbersome opponent's hands with it. Foe and Brittney tackled other people and Samantha openly shot at the other guards, always leaving them alive, but maimed. Effort 137 reached the control panel and placed both palms on top of the screen and button-covered counter, looking one last time up at the battle and the enormous tube tanks, lingering his hidden eyes on Soundwave.

Closing his eyes, Effort 137 detached all connections to the world outside as he dove deep down with in himself, crouching in a small, dark space. He reached through the hard blackness and found the glowing grid works of the primitive human technology, interlaced with superior Transformer programming. Then he found the life lines of the tubes and technology holding the elite Decepticon warriors captive and he seized them, breaking them from their power sources and instantly failing the technology. He swept into the open links, controlling the technology so that it released their captives.

_Awake_, he whispered.

Outside, the battle froze as machinery suddenly became alive with a blast of released air. Everyone looked up as the constant supply of pink energon dried up from their tubes, emptying into the Decepticon bodies, and they with drew. The arresting shocking cables drew out from the Transformers with a hiss of hydraulics. The long, sharp, barbs on the end made sure to replace the metal plating that had originally been opened up for them before turning around and, as one, placing their sharp points towards the glass.

"Awake…" someone softly whispered.

Right on cue, the red optics of all the Decepticons suddenly blazed to life, the red glow bleeding out into the green substance they were suspended in like hell fire embers. Electricity zipped down the barbs touching the glass and the electricity jumped into the glass… shattering it.

With a glorious explosion and crash, the tube tanks' glass shattered, cascading to the floor in a snowy shower of crystals. The green fluids followed immediately after, knocking all but the elevated Effort 137 off their feet as the tidal wave of lukewarm green liquid fell into the laboratory, swirling everyone around like an enormous whirlpool before spilling out into the hall, leaving behind soaked humans and puddles. The Decepticons, rather than stumble from sudden awakening or lack of exercise, all landed neatly on their own two feet, bending their knees slightly to absorb shock. They shook themselves off, exchanging looks as a mute greeting, then turned their optic sights, and their freshly drawn weapons, upon the humans.

Megatron shook himself off, sending droplets of green to rain down on the cowering adults below. Looking at his shoulder cannon, he found one of the empty energon tubes draping over it, like a drunken, clingy date. Seizing the tube in one fist, he ripped it from its socket with a burst of sparks and clenched it in his hand as he glared at it, then down at the scientists and adults.

"_What_ were you fools _thinking_, keeping us alive?" he hissed, throwing the tube forcefully down. "Stupid flesh creatures. You deserve this…"

Scientists and guards began to scream in mercy as he raised his arm cannon, but he ignored them. Laser fire rained down on the adults from the Decepticons, frying them and slaying them all. Foe and Brittney clung to each other, but no true traumatizing crossed their little minds. Their loveless life had destroyed their innocence enough. A minute later, the Efforts now collected in the center of the laboratory, were the only flesh creatures standing. Foe and Brittney exchanged mildly surprised looks after looking over the carnage, but were not in fear. Megatron turned his attention to the children, particularly Michel.

"I only spare your lot because Soundwave has informed me that you are the ones responsible for our releasing. Who are you, and why do you free us?" he growled.

"We are the Efforts," Michel replied. "We are the hybrids between human DNA and your own compounds."

"What!?" Megatron exclaimed as all the Decepticons jerked and exchanged shocked looks. "How is this possible??"

"A clever twisting of combining human DNA and your own compounds and left to grow in an incubator until the organism with in is that of a one-year old human child," Michel answered. "Many times over this experiment was attempted, and the results are those you see before you now. "

He looked at the other children and they took the hint.

"My human name is Steven," Steven said, stepping forward to face Shockwave. "My Transformer material is that of Shockwave's. I am Effort 12."

"I'm Brittney, from Thundercracker! I'm Effort 24!" Brittney said cheerfully, bouncing forward towards Thundercracker.

"Hey, people call me Foe, although my human name is Feodric," Foe said, approaching Skywarp. "I'm from you, Skywarp, Effort 56. There was a kid, Sam, Effort 25 that was yours before me, but he ran away and we haven't seen him since."

"Sir Starscream," Samantha said proudly. "I am your child-"

"Slag," Starscream muttered.

"Effort 33," Samantha finished with a small smirk. "Call me Samantha."

"And I am Michel," Michel said, looking Megatron up in his red optics. "Effort 83 of Megatron."

"Effort of final boy?" a deep, expressionless tone asked. It was Soundwave, indicating the last lad.

"I am Effort 137," Effort 137 suddenly spoke out, much to everybody's surprise and causing the kids to raise their eye brows. "I refuse to take up the name of 'Roger' that the humans gave me, as I will only ever allow my father to name me, _if _he were ever to acknowledge my alliance with him."

As he spoke, Effort 137 raised a hand and, for the first time ever in memory, with drew his visors. Pupil-less red eyes stared up at Soundwave, showing how serious he was.

"High number," Soundwave commented.

"Difficult human-Transformer compounding," Effort 137 stated. "All the others before me died in or shortly after incubation."

The Decepticons' red optics were glowing as they did a DNA scan of the children. Sure enough, in spite of their human exteriors, they were part transformer.

"What, _Michel_, do you and your _Efforts_, hope to get from setting us free?" Megatron demanded of Michel.

"We have finally become sick of being lab pets and have tires of the pure humans' antics," Michel replied. "I would not be surprised if any hatred or disgust you have at the idea of having a part-human son was shared with those fools you just graciously vaporized." To add emphasis, he kicked at a steaming, red-and-black corpse. There are more, and we want them dead."

"And if I decide to _fix_ this little _mishap_ of nature?" Megatron inquired, kneeling down to be more even with Michel as a smirk crossed his grey face.

"Then that is your decision to make," Michel replied, much to, apparently, Megatron's surprise. "We only wished to alliance ourselves with our fathers."

"What would you get out of this?" Shockwave inquired.

"I've answered this;" Michel repeated. "Revenge."

Megatron looked around, making brief thinking hums in his throat as he thought. Noticing a tube of energon, he stood up and took it. Tilting it slightly, a thick trickle of pink energon slipped from the end attached to the wall. He closed off the open end to prevent the precious liquid from spilling out, then turned to the boys.

"If you're truly a lad of my metal," Megatron said. "You'll have _some_ sort of reaction to energon. Here, boy; drink up."

Holding the tube over Michel, he released the open end and allowed a small shower of glowing purple liquid to spill onto Michel's head. Some of the cold liquid spilled into Michel's mouth and the reaction was instant.

Michel felt something explode inside of him and nerves he never knew he had tingled to life. The unbound feeling from before became more alive at the touch of energon-its life blood. He closed his eyes, breathing in deeply through his nose to keep control as glowing lines, all right corner and straight, darted over his skin and glowed grey. The other robots and human hybrids muttered in surprise as the lines glowed brightly, then flickered out. Michel flexed his hands, watching the lines disappear.

"Wow-a!" Brittney cooed. "No wonder no one ever let us near energon! Hey, Foe, do ya think that's why Sam ran away? The guards said he had broken into the energon storages-maybe he found out something between us and energon!"

"This will require more studying, My Lord," Shockwave told Megatron.

"Hey, yeah, can we keep 'em?" Skywarp asked, crouching down and poking Foe with a curious finger. "I wonder of this kid can teleport like me?"

"Hey, girl ,can you do anything cool?" Thundercracker asked Brittney.

"Is this cool?" Brittney asked.

Suddenly, she through herself up in a back flip and several handsprings before cart wheeling back to Thundercracker.

"Hmmm, it's a start," Thundercracker said.

As this was going on, Soundwave had opened his chest compartment and the Cassetticons emerged; Frenzy, Rumble, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, and Ravage. They all looked about, slightly dazed and tired, but alive and unharmed.

"Aw, man, Boss, you should've saved some for us!" Rumble whined.

"So… I have a _girl_," Starscream said, glaring down at Samantha in an attempt to hide his distaste. "A squishy, long-haired, disgusting _femme_."

"Hey, being related to a reputed _coward_ and _traitor_ isn't so hot either, Screamer!"

"I _hate_ that name!" Starscream spat.

_"Shut up!"_ Michel and Megatron both shouted at Starscream and Samantha.

Both exchanged looks, both mildly surprised at the unison. Then, as one, an identical smile crossed their faces.

"Your troops will join mine?" Megatron inquired. "All the way to the end?"

"As long as we still live," Michel replied agreeably. "Shall we shake on it or an oath?"

"Gentlemen!" Megatron announced, standing tall and proud, "I believe now is a renewal of the Decepticons! Our goals have not changed; complete annihilation of all weak races and universe conquering with two small changes; we will have fleshling allies, _these_, in our ranks, and we will _completely ruin this world_. Does any one object?"

"I do!" Starscream declared.

"Of course," Megatron muttered angrily. "What is it, Starscream?" he asked with a tired sigh.

"They're _fleshlings_ and they're a _horrific_ mixture between metal and blood!" Starscream exclaimed. "They're disgusting and a shame to the Decepticon cause!"

"That's something we have in common, Screamer," Samantha muttered.

"You; shut up," Starscream ordered Samantha. To Megatron; "I say that we _destroy_ these _freaks_ before we are shamed by their _heinous_ presence! Besides, what use are they now?"

"Bait to lure Autobots into traps!" Brittney and Foe declared together.

"Spying," Steven commented.

"Getting where certain _lug nuts_ are too big for," Samantha said, shooting a glare at Starscream.

"Stealth missions, and…" Michel said, glancing at Effort 137. "_Other _abilities."

"Such as…?" Shockwave inquired.

"Show 'em your stuff, 137!" Brittney cheered, bouncing up and down eagerly. "Show them! Show them! Show them!"

Wordlessly, Effort 137 replaced his visor, then turned his attention in the direction of the broken tube tanks. The Decepticons turned in time to see the numerous disabled tubes and wires suddenly jerk to life, flying up and reaching towards each other, interlacing into what appeared to be an intricate map. When they attempted to pull apart again, knots tightened and gaps grew, creating the Decepticons' sharp-faced insignia. The wires were left that way.

"And that is just the beginning," Effort 137 informed simply.

"Why don't you guys have powers like that?" Skywarp whined to Foe.

"Effort 137's special!" Foe exclaimed. "He's got Soundwave's powers all the way! He's telepathic, techno-a-path-"

"He's a technopath; one who can control electronics and machines," Steven corrected. "And now , after observing that last bit with the energon application to Michel, I now believe that we all may develop our Transformer powers once appropriately exposed to energon."

"My thoughts exactly," Shockwave agreed.

They fell momentarily silent as a new sound reached their ears and audio sensors; marching booted feet. Lots of them.

"Seems like our escapade hasn't gone unnoticed," Steven commented.

"Yeah, right, so, enough chit chat, what's it gonna be, Megs?" Samantha demanded. "Are you taking us with you or laser frying us?"

"My Lord; detection of force of heavily armed human guards coming this way," Soundwave reported. "They are equipped with armor-piercing ammunition and anti-laser armor. Orders, sir?"

Megatron hesitated as his CPU fled through all the scenarios and ups and downs of this important decision. Allow these Transformer-human hybrids to join his cause, or exterminate them? Finally, he cast an eye down on Michel, then the rest of the party. A decision had been reached and there was no going back.


	8. First Blood and Plans

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Chapter 7: First Blood and Plans**

"Skywarp; teleport Thundercracker and your.. _Efforts_," Megatron spat out, unable to say "children", "To this place's main communication center. Destroy all communications and have your Efforts distract and lure in guards. Humans have a soft spot for little ones, yes?"

"Alright!" Foe laughed, hopping over to Skywarp. "Let's break these busters! You ready, Brittney?"

"Ready as I'll ever be!" Brittney agreed.

The children were each hastily picked up by their fathers and Skywarp placed a hand on Thundercracker's shoulder.

"Slag, I hate this part…" Thundercracker muttered.

With a loud pop and a small burst of purple light, the two Seekers and their Efforts were gone.

"Shockwave, test your Effort's—Steven's—skills by hacking the computer from here and finding the location of all surviving Decepticons and possible hideouts at our disposal," he ordered the lavender robot and lavender-haired boy.

"The rest of you; show me what you got."

"_Alright_!" Rumble cheered, dropping down from Soundwave's shoulders and racing Frenzy towards the door where the sound of marching feet was growing to a peak. "Let's get us some action!"

"Bet ya I can shoot more humans than you can," Samantha taunted Starscream as she followed Soundwave's squad to the doors.

"Make your self one of them," Starscream snarled.

"Can't wait," Michel growled, flexing his hands as he started making his way towards the doors.

Suddenly, though, Megatron's large hand barred his way and Michel looked up at him curiously.

"The leader _directs_ the battles; not join them," Megatron told him.

"I got to show my guys that I know what I'm talking about," Michel told him, walking around the hand. "If they ever doubt me, they'll only have to think about how I kicked our opponents' asses in battle and they'll know that I know what I'm talking about. Either that, or they'll know that I'll live up to what ever punishment I threaten."

With that, Michel bolted forward just as Soundwave and Starscream, with final exchanged looks, kicked open the enormous, unused doors. The large force of guards outside reared back, shouting in shock as the Decepticons and their Efforts poured out of the lab. Michel was among them, disarming the nearest guard as he snatched away their gun and knocked them unconscious with a round house kick to their helmeted head. He and Samantha became back-to-back, shooting at the guards as Ravage dove in, claws and teeth slashing as Buzzsaw and Laserbeak attacked with laser eyes and talons from above. Rumble's arms transformed into enormous pile drivers that he used to slam into the floor, disturbing tiles as he sent human guards flying every which way. Frenzy stood on one of Soundwave's shoulders as his other shoulder held cannon that shot down into the crowd, same as Starscream's shoulder null cannons and hand-held gun. Only Effort 137 remained immobile, seemingly oblivious of the activity. Closing his eyes, he fell into concentration.

Back in the lab, Shockwave and Steven worked feverishly at the computer. Shockwave downloaded information as fast as Steve accessed it and just as one felt that they had reached a difficulty in cyber security, the other fixed it. Megatron, after staring a Michel for a long time, finally stepped out and joined the battle in the massive hall. Else where, Thundercracker and Skywarp were teleporting willy-nilly in an attempt to find the communications control room. When they found it, they set upon destroying it. The kids scrambled away, playing innocent-cute-and-scared to fool scientists and guards either away from the room or strange into the danger of the Decepticons.

Effort 137's inactivity did not go unnoticed.

Soundwave looked down at his Effort, pausing in his battle with the seemingly endless guard force, to stare at the strange human. Frenzy looked at Soundwave, then down at Effort 137.

"Hey, kid, do something!" Frenzy yelled.

And Effort 137 did.

Opening his eyes, even through his visor the colorless light could be seen. An extraordinary flash of blue and white light burst from him, interlaced with rings of strange runes and shapes that expanded and grew as they sped off, spreading around him. The closest human guards were knocked clear off their feet. There were sickening crunches as their ribs were crushed beneath the blast. A sound like a mix of techno and heavy metal accompanied the shockwave that pushed the guards back significantly. All through out Breaker Labs light bulbs flashed and exploded. Computers over loaded, but were some how rescued. Even parked vehicles in the garages were affected; batteries exploded and vehicles closer to the labs simply burst into fire balls. For miles around, a power outage occurred.

"Wow!" Frenzy exclaimed, his optics widening in shock. Even Soundwave's visor seemed to stretch in surprise.

They looked around and saw that the guards were fleeing.

"Don't let them escape!" Megatron's voice roared from with in the labs.

"Nice to see the old guy's temper still works," Samantha muttered, chasing after the guards fleeing up the hall.

"Indeed," Starscream agreed.

"Watch it; he's my father," Michel threatened.

While he, Samantha, Starscream, and Buzzsaw went up the hall, Soundwave, Frenzy, Rumble, Ravage, and Effort 137 went down the halls. At the end of the halls, though, they found that enormous and thick metal lock down doors had blocked the pursuit of their quarry.

"We are locked in, Lord Megatron," Soundwave reported to Megatron via internal com links.

"Glitching cowardly slaggers!" Starscream cussed.

"Look who's talking!" Samantha cackled.

"Watch it, femme, or I'll back hand you," Starscream threatened her.

"Shall I over ride the system, sir?" Effort 137 inquired.

"No, not just yet," Megatron said, overhearing Effort 137 and speaking through Soundwave's speakers. "Come back to the room and we shall discuss further tactics while we wait fro the others to return. _If_ they return."

"I doubt it," Starscream sorted, leading the way to returning to the room. "Those idiots couldn't find their own Spark chamber with a map and a GPS-"

As if to disagree, there was a pop and a brief flash of purple light and Thundercracker, Skywarp, Brittney, and Foe were once more with in the lab room. They were somewhat banged up and panting, but other wise unhurt.

"So, no going back now, eh, sis?" Foe panted to Brittney.

"Was there anything to go back to?" Brittney replied, also thus winded.

"Report," Megatron ordered.

"We kicked their butt and they can't call out to God if they wanted to!" Foe said proudly.

"I was talking to my mechs, you little twerp," Megatron growled. "Skywarp? Thundercracker?"

"We kicked their aft and they can't call out to Primus if they wanted to!" Skywarp said proudly.

"Remind me from now on that it doesn't matter who I address," Megatron said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Teleporting prankster idiots are teleporting prankster idiots."

"Hey! Maybe I can get teleporting abilities with some energon?" Foe asked.

"God help us," Samantha said, rolling her eyes.

"_Primus_ help us," Starscream added, rolling _his_ optics.

"Shockwave and… Steven," Megatron said, turning towards the doctor and the human-transformer hybrid, "What have you learned?"

"Most of the forces were wiped out in the final battle, sir," Shockwave replied. "But the survivors were taken to an asteroid-based prison in the Asteroid Belt of this galaxy. It appears that only 52 of our mechs are live."

"Security?" Megatron inquired.

"Tight prisons; pathetic soldiers," Steven replied, taking off his glasses. "Judging by their records-"

"Must I make it any clearer that for now, I am addressing _my_ _mechs_ and _not_ fleshlings?" Megatron growled through gritted teeth.

Shockwave and Steven exchanged looks. Steven shrugged hopelessly and replaced his glasses and tapped at the computers as Shockwave answered Megatron.

"The cells and building structure of the prison itself is strong, Lord Megatron," he said. "But judging by the records and official documents, the guards are mostly inexperienced young Transformers, scarcely past being Sparklings. It will be easy to defeat them with mere fear tactics."

"Bad move," Michel grunted, but was cut off by Megatron.

"They'll panic and call in the more experienced Autobots," Megatron finished.

"Exactly," Michel agreed.

"So let's bust out of here, free our soldiers, and kill the little slaggers!" Starscream snarled.

"And neglect recruiting possible new soldiers?" Megatron demanded, turning towards Starscream. "Don't be a fool, Starscream; we _need_ any possibly twisted-sparked Sparkling up there."

"If they say no," Samantha said, examining her fingernails from where she was leaning casually, ankles-crossed, against Starscream's leg, "Just shoot 'em!"

"Get off of me!" Starscream snarled, shaking his leg ferociously.

"We can't just _sit _here!" Starscream told Megatron. "The Autobots will come in force!"

"Then we'll fight 'em!" Samantha declared.

"_We_ have the advantage of strong walls," Michel told Samantha. "These laboratories were build like a fort to keep us _in_ by being able to stand up to thousands of pounds of dynamite blasts per square inch, which also works in reverse-to keep things _out _– incase any terrorist organizations wanted to free us. Isn't that right, Steven?"

"Correct, sir," Steven replied. "According to my calculations, between space limit, the alloy and geometric make up of the walls, and positioning, it would take the force of an extremely powerful bomb-atomic or hydrogen, preferably-to shatter these walls or doors. Everything is coated in an anti-laser paint substance and there are repair drones for the exterior sides that are capable of repairing both the base and themselves."

"So you are saying that if anyone wishes to attack us, we merely have to stand ready at which ever door they come from?" Shockwave inquired.

"Precisely, sir," Steven confirmed.

"Hmm… built like a fortress…" Megatron muttered. "Where is this place, exactly?"

"Smack in the center of the Sahara Desert," Steven answered. "No one really cares about it anymore, ever since the African countries around and north of the Equator all went to hell and dissolved their borders and governments a couple years back…"

"Are there metal and energy resources near by?" Megatron went on, then added, "_Shockwave?_"

"Ask the boy," Shockwave stated. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Yes, sir," Steven jumped in. "But, of course, with the way things are here, the humans guarding them are more heavily armed against fellow humans and warring tribes. Entire towns will rise against us if we attack their factories."

"No matter, no matter, how much energon and raw metal can we get from these places?" Megatron went on eagerly.

"The mines are relatively new; so a lot of metal. As to the factories; few are big, but there are many, _many_ of them. We should get _quite_ an impressive source of energon, especially from the solar plants."

"The base also has an energon generator that was supposed to keep you guys alive!" Brittney added in eagerly. "So there's always an emergency supply!"

"An incredibly well-built, underground fort in an anti-fleshie place, near by sources, void of official military forces or government, complete with an endless emergency energon supply," Megatron listed off. He laughed. "Things could never be better for us! Those _idiots_ made our prison our greatest palace! We will clean out the rest of the forces here, make _this_ our new Decepticon headquarters! Soundwave-hack into all the information networks and delete _all_ information concerning the blue prints and lay out of this place. The rest of us; we will set up watches and wait until the forces outside attempt to enter us, then we will push out and attack-"

"Would you like me to open the doors _now_, sir?" Effort 137 inquired.

Everybody looked at him.

"What?" Megatron inquired.

"I can order the security systems to open the doors and thus, allow us out into the labs," Effort 137 went on. "I've already locked all doors leading outside so that no one may escape."

"Y-You have?" Megatron asked dumbly. "Sense when?"

"Sense I released my telepathic wave over the guards," Effort 137 replied. "Shall I release one or both of the doors?"

Megatron looked around, as if trying to ask the others if _they_ believed this. Suddenly, his optics fell on Michel and Starscream and he flickered them back and forth before fixing them on Starscream and smirking.

"What are you doing?" Starscream asked, shifting nervously.

"Imagining your head on a platter," Samantha hissed up at him.

"Thundercracker, Shockwave and… _Steven_ and _Brittney_;" Megatron began. "You will stay here and keep the humans from taking back this room; it's our base of operations for now. Starscream, _Samantha,_ Frenzy, Ravage, Rumble; you will be led under Michel down the hall-"

_"WHAT!?"_ Starscream roared. "You're saying that I have to follow a slagging _fleshing_!?"

"Suck it up, ugly!" Samantha said with a cocky smile. "He'll be getting shot while you're high tailing it outa there!"

Starscream growled at her, but failed to say more.

"Soundwave, Effort 137, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, Skywarp, Foe-" He appeared not have trouble pronouncing Foe's name, probably due to it's lack to sounding like a regular name. "And I will go the other way. Frenzy and Rumble-make sure to keep me in contact with Michel."

"Yes, sir!" the small Decepticons replied, saluting.

"I can't believe I'm stuck with a bunch of _midgets_," Starscream whined as the parties went in their own directions.

"At least our dick sizes match," Samantha stated.

"Did you just insult my masculine authority!?" Starscream roared.

"Tried, but you don't have any 'masculine authority' to insult" Samantha replied.

"End this and save your rage for the fight," Michel growled. "Or I will _end you_ myself."

"What ever you say, Megs Junior." Samantha chuckled.

"If I hear you say that again, I'll shoot you myself," Megatron threatened before they finally split beyond ear shot.

Once they reached the closed doors on either end of the hall, beyond sight or shouting distance, they contacted via intercom.

"Hey, Michel," Frenzy said, a hand to the side of his head. "Boss wants to know if you're ready."

"Are we all?" Michel asked back.

"Ready to rumble!" Rumble said as his arms transformed into pile drivers.

"Yeah!" Samantha laughed, holding up her gun.

Ravage snarled eagerly and Starscream sighed in exasperation. "Fine," he sighed, reluctantly lifting his guns. "I'll follow the squishie."

"Tell him we're ready," Michel told Frenzy.

"We're ready to rock and roll, boss!" Frenzy declared.

On the other end of the long hall, Megatron looked at Soundwave.

"Not to undermine your abilities, Soundwave, but let's see how your _son_ does." To Effort 137; "Alright, boy, open the doors. And you go first."

Without even an eye twitch from Effort 137, the doors slip upwards and away. On either end, large masses of well-armed human guards and guard drones stood at attention, although caught off guard by the doors' unauthorized opening. As an enormous explosion of blue and white light rocked Megatron's end of the hall, Michel and his team leaped into the fight.


	9. Dr Condor Becomes Ground Chicken

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers: Hasbro does.**

**Warning: Get's a bit bloody here!**

**Chapter 8: Dr. Condor Becomes Ground Chicken**

"Rumble; knock them down!" Michel was shouting as he fought with fists and his stolen gun. "Starscream; take out the major machine guards! Everyone else; watch each others' backs and let none escape!"

Sometime in the ensuing fight, Michel spotted Dr. Condor yelling at everybody from the back.

"Starscream; throw me at that man over there!" Michel yelled up at the robot, pointing towards the doctor.

"With pleasure, human," Starscream growled, pausing in his fighting to bend over and pick Michel up, none too gently, and tossed him carelessly at Dr. Condor without a second look. Entrusting himself to his instincts, Michel flipped and spun in the air over the guards' heads to land on his feet behind Dr. Condor. When Dr. Condor turned around to see what had landed behind him, Michel punched him squarely in the face before dragging the dazed doctor into a near by room. It was an empty room that had not yet been committed to any sort of purpose. Locking the door behind him, Michel calmly set his gun against the wall… Then slammed Dr. Condor against the wall.

"You!" Dr. Condor snarled, struggling to escape, "We _knew_ that this would have happened! The original scientists that started this _years_ ago thought that you'd be different, but you're no better than the monsters you were spawned from!"

"Which ones, the humans or the Decepticons?" Michel inquired. "Because to me, it seems there is an awfully thin line."

Dr. Condor's eyes were widening as he realized that Michel possessed greater strength than he had anticipated.

"Uh-uh-huh?" the doctor asked, his nervousness becoming evident. "What do you mean? And, uh, how'd you get so strong?"

"You want to know _why_ we're turning against you?" Michel growled. "Why the monster is turning on Dr. Frankenstein? Why we test tube kids are turning on our 'wise adult elders'?"

One fist reached back and slammed into Dr. Condor's stomach, doubling the man over with a loud cough. Michel dropped Dr. Condor.

"We're turning on you because we have no reason to _stay_ by your side," Michel said, kicking Dr. Condor in the ribs. "We've never been loved, or even _liked_. We've always been the _things_ everybody looked down on us. You taught us to read and write and about the world only because you were ordered to. You and all the other people here always had their eyes on us, looking for flaws or possible 'evil' triggers. A sneeze may have been us reaching for a gun. A teenage mood swing may have been a breaking point. You _never_ expressed the _will_ to look at us any other way than 'the monsters' kids'. You never cared about us; no one ever did!"

As Michel talked, he kicked Dr. Condor once or twice a sentence. He felt ribs cracking beneath his boots. Now he hauled the man up by his lab coat collar and slammed him against the wall. Red was filling his vision and even his eyes and insane strength was racing through him to keep pace with his blood and adrenaline. Was this the effect of the little energon he swallowed earlier? Was this him finally letting loose and letting all those unhappy feelings from the past escaping him? If so, he was keeping the gates _wide_ open.

"So now, today, when you threatened to terminate Brittney for sympathizing for her father and we tried showing the noble gesture of protecting her," Michel went on. "You saw it as an uprising and struck at _us_! Well, you got an uprising _now_, and unfortunately, it's too late to stop anything. You turned us into that which you feared with your behavior."

"Oh god, please, no!" Dr. Condor whimpered.

"Yes," Michel told him. Then he began to punch Dr. Condor.

- - - - - - - - - -

"Hey, Starscream," Samantha said, looking around at the crowd of dead bodies. "Where's Michel?"

"I don't know," Starscream said, examining his smoking laser casually. "I threw him away."

"WHAT!?" Samantha yelled, turning on him.

"He told me to!" Starscream exclaimed, shrugging hopelessly down at the Effort.

Then Samantha heard it; the muffled repetitive noises of punching. Following the sounds to a particular room, she opened the door to find Michel beating Dr. Condor up. The doctor's face had been reduced to a nasty, squishy bloody red pulp.

"Hey, cool!" Frenzy said behind her. "Hey, Rumble, bro! You gotta come see this!"

"I didn't know humans could bleed from the eyes…" Rumble muttered in awe.

"MICHEL!" Samantha yelled, catching Michel's attention as the robots gathered behind her to peer at the bloody scene.

"What?" Michel growled at her, looking at her with red eyes. Blood dripped from his knuckles, joining several on the floor.

"Knock it off; we got shit to clean up!" she snapped. "You temperamental dick head!"

"No, no, no!" Rumble exclaimed, bouncing excitedly. "Let him finish!"

"This could go on for quite a while," Michel said, punching the older man a couple times in the stomach.

"Hey, can I take a swing?" Frenzy asked, entering the room.

"What are Megatron's orders?" Michel asked.

"Aw, slag, man, come on…" Frenzy whined, but placing a hand to the side of his head, none the less. "Hey, Megatron? We're finished over here. Can we beat the crap out of a survivor?"

"Yes," Megatron responded. "Just make sure to clean up your mess; we're done here, as well. There are only exterior exits from here, barring the major rooms like the cafeteria and garage. You may… _play_ with the prisoner, but don't let your guard down."

"Alright!" Frenzy cheered, jumping forward. "Come on; blood's good lubricants for the knuckles after a hot fight of laser shooting!"

"Can I finish him off with a pile driver head smash?" Rumble asked eagerly. Ravage growled. "Oh, and Ravage wants to nibble on his hands; just for old time's sakes."

"Welcome to Hell," Michel whispered into Dr. Condor's ear.

Dr. Condor croaked and attempted to speak through his cracked jaw, swollen lips, and shattered teeth.

"P-Pleash, no-"

"He's all yours," Michel smirked, handing the human off to Frenzy.

Michel took up his gun and looked at Samantha.

"Want to take a shot at him?" he asked.

"Just one," Samantha replied.

Walking forward, she waved her fingers to herself in a "come" gesture and, understanding, Frenzy and Rumble turned Dr. Condor towards her. Reaching a foot back, she flung it up to kick it into Dr. Condor's crotch. He let out a loud moan of pain and fell limp in the twin Cons' arms.

"_That's_ for all your experiments, ass hole," Samantha spat.

"Take him out as long and painfully as you can, boys," Samantha told the brothers.

"Will do," Rumble laughed as he held Dr. Condor for Frenzy to punch.

Dr. Condor's screams were cut off as Samantha closed the door behind her.

"So, _sir_," Samantha said, casting Michel a venomous look. _"Now_ what?"

"Clean this place up a bit," Michel said, indicating the battle scene. "Loot the useful stuff and stack the bodies to the side for incineration later; maybe skulls for Megatron's throne?"

"Oh _please_, that's _my_ throne we are talking about!" Starscream snorted.

"Nah; too old fashioned for Megs' tastes," Samantha said, shaking her head.

Starscream rubbed his face in annoyance. Apparently, even the _human abominations_ looked low enough on him to ignore him.


	10. The Naming Ceremony

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Chapter 9: The Naming Ceremony**

"We have to do something about your names."

Three days later and the Breaker Labs had been cleaned out of humans and their guardian drones. What few Transformers that hid in the garage had, also, been terminated. The bodies had been incinerated in the kitchens' ovens. True, Foe and Brittney, being so young, were slightly frazzled by the violence, but a calm word from Michel and some part-playful,part-annoyed snapped on Samantha's part, and they were able to take it in stride. Now the force was gathered in the main hall. The kids were finishing lunch and the Decepticons were enjoying the energon they had milked from the machines. They would need to go out and harvest more to make up for the slow machines' processing. But upon Megatron's sudden announcement, the kids looked up from their mostly-empty plates, then set them aside to look up at their leader. Michel was the unofficial leader of the human hybrids, but he still followed Megatron's orders.

"What about them?" Michel asked.

"I trust that they are inadequate?" Steven suggested.

"Extremely," Shockwave confirmed.

"If you are to serve in this army, _especially_ with personal ties to ourselves," Megatron stated. "You are _not_ keeping your human names; it's a hypocritical and shameful addressing."

"Shameful?" Samantha asked. "For _who_?"

"You," Megatron stated, much to the children's surprise. "Each of your fathers will name their sons--or daughters--to their choosing. I'll give us until supper time to choose your final names. Until then--there is nothing to be done for now. Dismissed for personal time."

With that, Megatron got up and left. Skywarp and Thundercracker exchanged looks, then begun to whisper to each other in the Cybertronian language. Soundwave and Shockwave wandered off, as if in a daze. The kids finished their meals and disposed of their dishes as they spoke.

"Wow! Uncle Megatron really cares about us!" Brittney gasped.

"_Lord_ Megatron, stupid sweetie," Samantha corrected in a venomous honey voice. "And what makes you think _that?_"

"Well, it's obvious!" Foe said. "I mean-he wants us to change our names," he said weakly.

"You're as dumb as your dad," Samantha stated.

"Hush," Steven growled.

"But Foe is right," Michel said. "But it's more like Megatron's accepting us into the army instead of just temporary assets. He was concerned about whether or not we would be shamed about our human names, in spite of our Transformer heritage. To actually consider issuing us new names to further make our connection to the army more personal all suggests that we might be in his services for the long haul, or, at least, for as long as we survive. But I _must_ admit that I'm _curious_ as to what he'll call me," Michel said, dropping his serious leader pose to release a bit of almost childish excitement.

"I hope Pops calls me something cool, like Streak Striker!" Foe said, bouncing eagerly.

"Sounds like you're hitting some dirty underwater," Samantha said.

Soon, the kids were arguing both playfully or in a truly upset way, in the case of Samantha versus Michel and Foe. Steve remained calm to the point of hardly even arguing. Effort 137 sat to the side silently. He was like his father in many ways, including being withdrawn unless addressed.

Dinner rolled around and the Decepticons came back to the main hall. Starscream was late.

"What took you so long?" Megatron snapped at him.

"I was thinking of a name suitable and embarrassing name for my," Starscream paused to spit the word out. "_Daughter."_

"Yeah, well, being your kid is no picnic for me either, douche brains," Samantha snorted.

Starscream's wings shuddered in anger as his optics blazed down at Samantha. Megatron struck him extremely hard upside the head and he glared at his superior before looking away, although his wings continued to vibrate in barely held in anger.

"So," Megatron said, smirking at his men. "Who would like to go first with the naming ceremony?"

"Ooh, me! Me! Me! I do! I do!" Skywarp said eagerly, jumping up and down as he raised and waved a hand eagerly like an proud student.

_"Then go already!!"_ Megatron roared at him.

"Hey, Foe," Skywarp said, turning to the nine year old boy and dropping to his knees to lean over the kid. "You say your original name is really Feodric, right?"

"Sounds like some French noble," Foe snorted. "The French are scardy cats."

"Not as big as Starscream," Samantha interjected.

"Silence!" Megatron snapped at her.

"Yeah, yeah," Skywarp said eagerly. "So, obviously, like, that name _sucks_, so I was thinking all day, or, sense lunch, actually, and-"

_"Get on with it!"_ Michel and Megatron both snapped in unison.

"The synchronization is kind of getting creepy, Michel," Steven whispered to Michel.

Near by, Shockwave whispered in Cybertronian to Megatron, "The synchronization is somewhat eerie in nature, Master."

Both leaders waved their advisors back in dismissal.

"Well, not-Foe!" Skywarp said proudly, wings standing on end. "I'm calling you…Shadowleap!"

"Huh?" Starscream asked. "But he can't even teleport!"

"Shut up," Skywarp said, smiling in spite of his extremely serious tone, "He's young and he hasn't grown up yet."

"Shadowleap, eh?" ex-Foe asked.

"It'll fit _great_ when you're grown up!"

"_Alright!_" newly-named Shadowleap cheered, smacking his tiny palm with Skywarp's enormous black one.

He and Skywarp had grown close these past few weeks.

"Thundercracker, what are you to name your daughter?" Megatron asked. Michel was pleased to see that Megatron had warmed to the idea of the Decepticons having unwanted kids.

"Well," Thundercracker said, holding down a hand out to Brittney that she climbed into. He lifted her up. He and Brittney were slowly and quietly drawing together, although Thundercracker was somewhat hesitant still about the girl being his daughter still. "She looks kinda like me, but she's really good with acrobats, so… Cartwheel."

"Cartwheel?" Brittney asked, turning her head to the side curiously.

"I noticed you like to do it, and seem to have made it some sort of attack move," Thundercracker then added, somewhat sternly, "Don't tell me you don't like it!"

"Nuh uh! It's fine!" newly-named Cartwheel said, nodding eagerly.

"I am to call my son Ferrofluid." Shockwave said, looking at Steven. "It's an incredibly useful substance, even in Transformer technology, and the peak of chemistry."

"Ferrofluid, I like it," ex-Steven said agreeably, nodding.

"As for _you_, you annoying little glitching femme," Starscream snarled at Samantha. "You're Smartmouth."

"Smartmouth!?" Samantha exclaimed.

"Don't argue with him," Megatron growled, clearly reluctant to help Starscream in any way. "Or your only name will be 'that dead fleshling'. Soundwave, have you discovered an appropriate name for Effort 137?"

"Failed to come up with appropriate name," Soundwave answered. "Will require more time to figure name out for fleshy organism carrying my compounds."

Michel glanced at Effort 137 and was the only one to see the brief twitch of the younger boy's eye brows. Sensing the eyes, Effort 137 sent Michel a brief mental message via telepathy; was Effort 137 doing good enough for his father to name him? Hadn't he worked hard enough to prove himself? Michel responded with a brief reassurance that Soundwave would name him in time.

"Mextron," Megatron said, turning his head slightly up as if he were talking to someone of equal height, but still smirking down at Michel. "Your name will be Mextron."

The Seekers dropped their jaws, then fell about laughing, even Starscream. Shockwave's one optic dimmed as he placed a white hand to his lavender forehead and shook his head. Only a tiny vibration showed that Soundwave was holding back a burst of laughter. Megatron frowned, but nodded one last time to Michel.

"Mextron," he simply stated. "And the rest of you aren't getting any energon tomorrow morning!" he snarled at the Decepticons before stomping out of the main hall. The punishment failed to dampen the Decepticons' spirits.

"_What_ the _heck_ is so _funny_?" Smartmouth asked, raising an eye brow in confusion at the still-laughing Seekers.

"Mex; the Transformer word for 'son'," Soundwave defined, his voice strained. "Mega; the Transformer word for 'superior'. Megatron his 'Superior Tron'. He has called his son 'Son Tron', which, in the process of name inheritance, translates to 'Megatron Junior'."

The joke was not lost on the kids. All but Mextron and Effort 137 broke down laughing, Ferrofluid included. Effort 137, apparently, was still grim at not being named.

"Megatron Junior!" Smartmouth laughed. "Holy cow, Michel, I mean-_Mextron_, you're a junior!"

"Hey, let's call 'Junior' over for some baseball!" Shadowleap laughed, elbowing Mextron in the side. "Oh my god, Mike-Mex-Mextron," he laughed, stumbling over the names as he fell to the floor laughing. "You're a freaking _junior_!"

"Wow," newly-and-embarrassingly-named "Megatron Junior" muttered. "I didn't realize that he _hated_ me…"

**Author's Note: Ferrofluid-basically, it's a metal liquid substance that act's weird around magnetic forces. It's used in an all manner of fields, from electronic devices to anti-radar detection paints in the military. Really cool.**


	11. Energon

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Chapter 10: Energon**

"Drink it!"

"Nuh- uh!"

"Come on, what's the worst that could happen?"

"I could _die_!"

"So? Come on, drink it, wussey!"

"If it's so safe, then why don't _you_ drink it?"

"What's going on here?" Mextron asked, entering the large gym that had been turned into the energon storage room.

Following him was a bored-looking Smartmouth. Ferrofluid and Effort 137 were working elsewhere with Shockwave and Soundwave carefully breaking down walls to make the labs bigger and hacking new information out of the computer system. Cartwheel and Shadowleap were already in the energon storage unit, once a large gym for guards to train in, by the currently small stack of energon harvested from the small energon-making machinery in the laboratories. Shadowleap had a vial of purple energon in hand and was holding it out to Cartwheel.

"Foe-I mean, Shadowleap wants me to drink some energon!" Cartwheel whined.

"Come on, you saw how hyped Mex got on just getting _splashed_ by the stuff!" Shadowleap implored. "Imagine what we could do if _we_ got a full shot of that stuff!"

"You are _forbidden_ from ingesting _any_ of the energon unless given permission to do so from Lord Megatron," Mextron informed sternly.

"Yeah, but you're Megatron's son, so doesn't that make you, like the prince?" Shadowleap snickered.

"_No_,_" _Mextron said sternly, his jaw stiffening.

"No is right," Starscream growled, entering the room. "Because _I_ am going to be Lord one day!"

"What are you doing here?" Smartmouth sighed tiredly.

"Guarding the energon," Starscream informed. "And trying to hide from _Skywarp_ and his pranks-"

Right on cue, there was a loud pop and a flash of purple and Skywarp appeared, wrapping his arms around Starscream's neck in a playful tackle. Starscream let out an electronic chirp of surprise and annoyance, but managed to stand tall with the Seeker latched to his back. Thundercracker came into the gym/storage unit a moment later, snickering as Starscream threw Skywarp off onto his bottom and began yelling at him.

"What the slag, Skywarp!?" Starscream snarled. "Is that anyway to treat your superior?"

"The only people calling you 'superior', Screamer," Smartmouth shot in. "Are the worms in the ground. Oh, and there's rumor of them starting a rebellion against you."

"Hey, I like your Sparkling femme, Screamer!" Skywarp laughed. "She knows what's what!"

"Shut up!" Starscream snarled. "Or I'll have your wings ripped off!"

"Yeah?" Skywarp asked, jumping to his feet and spreading his arms. "By _who_? In case you're wondering, there's no one here for you to boss that can rip my wings off; no Constructicons, no hay-wire Dinobots, no clones-just the best of the Decepticon army and their… kids."

"Hey, Skywarp, can we drink some energon?" Shadowleap suddenly called up, holding up the long vial of the glowing stuff. "Just to see what happens?"

"Sure, why not?" Skywarp said with a shrug as one hand snaked out and snatched one of the cubes off the small stack. "Heck, Megs is sending us out on our first scouting mission this afternoon-drink up, Thundercracker!"

"Alright!" Thundercracker laughed, catching one of the cubes as it was tossed to him.

"Bottoms up," Shadowleap said easily, then tilted his head back to take a large gulp of the energon from the vial.

"Ooh, Megatron's gonna be mad now!" Cartwheel wailed, dancing from foot to foot. "We're not supposed to drink energon!"

But Mextron remembered the strange surging feeling he got when he had tasted just a little energon and felt compelled to have more.

"Well, then, guess this can be our first father-son argument," Mextron said, taking the two-thirds filled vial from Shadowleap. "Bottoms up."

He took a large swig, feeling the cold liquid crackle as it went down his throat and coil up in his stomach. Sparks flashed behind his eyes and his ears rang as he shook his head to clear it.

"Wow," he whispered as his limbs began to tingle.

"Well, if we're being naughty boys, then let's add a girl to the mix!" Smartmouth declared, snatching the vial from Mextron and downing the last of the energon stashed with in. She shook her head once she had, blinking hard at the sudden surge of strange events with in her body.

"Wow," she squeaked.

That was when Megatron's voice boomed over the announcing intercom system. He had doubtlessly managed to hook himself up to the primitive, low-quality intercom system via Soundwave. His voice came over somewhat faded and chopped, made so by the pathetic technology, but his message was clear.

_"Megatron to the Seekers and Smartmouth, Mextron, and Shadowleap; report to the garage immediately!"_

"What does he want with the blood bags?" Starscream grunted, leading the way out of the gym with the Seekers following and the kids trotting after them.

"I don't know; what does he want with an idiot?" Smartmouth asked.

"Yeah, what _does_ he want with you, Skywarp?" Starscream asked.

"I was talking about you, bolts-for-brains," Smartmouth snarled. "Don't play the Play Dumb Game with me or I'll have so many shots hitting you you'll think you just came out of a battle!"

"Try and bring it, you annoying femme!" Starscream snarled down at her. "And I'll make sure that your leg will be Ravage's new chew toy!"

"Will you two _ever_ knock it off?" Mextron sighed, rolling his eyes as they entered the main hall where Megatron was waiting with Soundwave at his side. Rumble sat on Soundwave's shoulder.

"Well, look on the bright side, Mex," Shadowleap added in. "As long as they fight, Smartmouth doesn't argue with you, and Screamer and Megs don't fight each other!"

"Call me that nickname again, boy, and all that will be _left_ of you is your shadow," Megatron warned darkly. "Now, today the Seekers will go out and scout the surrounding lands, marking out ideal mines and energy sources to target around a specific town called Kobano. But some of the villages, our research has found, seem to have Transformers hiding with in them. Not Decepticons, but not Autobots either; just mere criminals hiding from the law. I don't want to start a panic this early with so little troops or resources on base, so hence, the Seekers _will_ go scouting under maximum _stealth: _No blowing things up, _Skywarp_."

"Aw man," Skywarp whinned.

"Shadowleap, Mextron, and Smartmouth; you will go into the village and see what you can find out about hidden supply caches, mines, and the exact condition of these hidden Transformers."

"Wait, we have to _carry_ them!?" Starscream screeched.

"Hey, that's a little too soon, even for me," Skywarp said, glancing down at Shadowleap.

"I'm _not_ carrying a human!" Thundercracker objected. "I can tolerate the kids _outside_ of me and while I'm in combat because I'm too busy to object, but-"

"Silence!" Megatron commanded. "If I say that you will carry the Efforts to Kobano, you will _take_ the Efforts to Kobano, or I will rip your wings off! Understand??"

"But we can't speak African!" Shadowleap whined.

"Yeah, that's right!" Starscream agreed, seizing upon the idea eagerly. "What's the point of spying when they can't even understand the locals?"

"Soundwave?" Megatron inquired.

"Translator ear pieces of have been created for this purpose," Soundwave stated. "Install into organic audio receptor and the translator will translate the foreign dialect into one that the listener is able to understand."

Rumble jumped down on a silent signal from Soundwave and handed a small silver node to each of the Efforts. Once they slid into their ears and Megatron suddenly spoke in Cybertronian, his words coming out in a series of deep rumbles.

"The Seekers _will_ take you to the edge of Kobano, you _will_ scout out for any hidden mines or energy sources, and you _will_ return with a full, completely detailed report. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," the Seekers agreed, somewhat miserably, as they saluted.

"Yes, sir!" Mextron agreed, saluting sharply. Smartmouth and Shadowleap followed his lead.

"Good. Laserbeak and Buzzsaw will be hovering on stealth over head to make sure that the Efforts will not try anything _funny_ while the Seekers scout the surrounding lands. You will be back by just after sun down. You are dismissed to your mission."

"Laserbeak, Buzzsaw; eject," Soundwave ordered, pressing a button on his shoulder as the large main doors of the main hall opened up, leading into the large hall that led to the garage, which would lead to the outside world.

A pair of video cassettes, one red and black and the other yellow and black, leaped from Soundwave's chest compartment. They unfolded, seemingly breaking in mid air, only to spread large metallic wings and swoop up into the air before they hit the ground. Rumble, his job finished, turned and jumped up, folding into a cassette tape that slid easily into Soundwave's waiting chest compartment.

"Alright, come on, blood bag," Starscream said reluctantly, dropping into his jet alt form and his cock pit opening up. "But _don't_ touch anything."

"What ever you say, Screamer," Smartmouth snickered, scrambling up Starscream's smooth side and into the cock pit.

Starscream noticeably shivered in disgust at the contact.

"Primus, I hate you…" he muttered.

"I hate you too, Screams," Smartmouth purred.

Shadowleap and Mextron watched as Thundercracker and Skywarp seemed to crumble as their metal bodies broke apart, shifted, and remolded into their jet forms. While the jet bodies were somewhat old fashioned by now, the sleek metal sides and the flashy paint jobs were as intimidating and powerful looking as ever.

"Okay, Shadow," Skywarp said reluctantly. "Get in."

"But I'm too short," Shadowleap began to object.

Mextron smacked him on the back of the head, then bent slightly as he linked his fingers.

"Shut up and get on; I'll boost you up," Mextron said.

Megatron grimaced in confusion as Mextron helped Shadowleap into Skywarp before he himself jumped off of Skywarp's side to jump, like a cricket, into Thundercracker's cock pit. Why was Mextron, leader of the Efforts, stooping to help Shadowleap? For Megatron, if one of his troops couldn't help themselves with as s simple a task as getting into a jet, he would ignore them out of disgust. What, was Mextron _soft_?This would need to be looked further into later. The glass coverings fell down over the cock pit and the jets' engines thrummed as they levitated straight up into the air.

"Let's get this over with," Starscream grumbled, but even he couldn't hide the note of joy at flying once more from his vocals as he led the way out the main hall, down the corridor, and into the enormous garage where the mammoth doors were sliding open. The garage, partially empty of its destroyed vehicles and void of any workers, bade a mute adieu to the jets as they rocketed out into the desert.

Rolling hills of golden sand welcomed the jets below and a clear sapphire blue sky embraced them from above. Wind roared around them, as if cheering the Seekers' return to their rightful place. Below them, in rocky out croppings here and there, scorpions and desert lizards jumped nervously, as if surprised to see the air demons once more screeching across the sky. In spite of their unwanted passengers and their mission, the Seekers celebrated. Thundercracker and Skywarp cheered, doing barrel rolls over each other, and even Starscream chuckled as he swooped back and forth on the wind, allowing it to stroke his long neglected wings.

"Ouch-!" Shadowleap began to object when his head hit the glass roof.

"Let them be, Shadowleap," Mextron ordered through Thundercracker's open radio. "They need to stretch their wings…"


	12. Kobano, Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Chapter 11: Kobano**

The streets of Kobano were of dirt with tin and brick buildings, most without intact windows, lining the streets. People herded cattle, goats, and chickens through the dirt streets, around stands of people selling meat, spices, clothe, gems, some weapons, and even just random baubles they happened to have. If one looked closely, they would see a vehicle or two, often a truck or a jeep of some large caliber, hiding with in the shadows of the alley ways. At first, it would seem off that a vehicle would be in such a low-down town such as Kobano, until the looker saw the strange symbols tattooed along their sides, or imprinted on their wheels. These were Transformers, the rough types who had fallen in some trouble in some other place and had come here in Kobano to hide until the heat died down. Mextron noticed this as he, Smartmouth, and Shadowleap hid behind one of the buildings on the very edge of the dusty town.

"We'll be noticed the instant we step out there," Smartmouth growled. "This mission can't go through."

"Oh yes it can!" Shadowleap said happily, appearing beside his comrades with some bundles in hand.

"What do you have, Shadowleap?" Mextron inquired.

"Just some stuff I'm borrowing from a local stand," Shadowleap said easily. "Toss 'em on and we'll be just another face in the crowd. Come on, the time's a-wasting!"

"You can't be serious," Smartmouth said with a disdain sneer as she hesitantly took up one of the bundles with the tip of her fingers.

"Shut up and wear the stolen garments, Smartmouth," Mextron ordered sternly, "Unless you want to explain to _Megatron_ why we failed to scout this place out."

"I hate you," Smartmouth growled.

A few minutes later, with some dirt-to-face smearing for an extra touch, two teenagers and one young boy exited the alley way dressed in the town's fashion of shirtless canvas trousers for the boys and a loose, thin, brown, shapeless dress with a small rope tied around the waist for the girl. The girl wore a floppy straw brim hat. They all wore thin, crude leather and rubber sandals. Each had their true outfit hidden away in a canvas bag that each carried with them. What was strangest of all, though, was that these disguises were the first outfits they ever wore other than the grey and white uniforms.

"Ugh, this is _disgusting_," Smartmouth said in disgust, brushing her fingers through her long red hair and picking at her dirty, rough dress shiftily. "This thing smells like sweat and god _knows_ what!"

"Aw come on, Smartmouth, sometimes you gotta get a little dirty to get the job done!" Shadowleap said with a huge grin.

Without hesitation, Smartmouth struck at Shadowleap with her elbow between his shoulder blades, knocking him onto his stomach in a small explosion of dust in the dirt.

"There," she said with satisfaction as Shadowleap coughed in the dirt. "You should get the job done _very_ well."

"Hey! I don't think we've ever been this dirty!" Shadowleap exclaimed happily. If he had a tail, it would be wagging.

"Shut up and keep your voice down," Mextron hissed to the two, looking around. "We have to start asking around. Be careful that people don't look too closely at your eyes. Split up, but meet back here an hour before sun down. If one of us doesn't show up on time, go on towards the Seeker rendezvous point."

"Yes, sir," Shadowleap said with a proud salute before bounding off into the crowd. He appeared to have always been a dirt dog of these streets.

"Fine, _Master_," Smartmouth sneered to Mextron, "What ever you say."

"Thank you, Smartmouth," Mextron replied smoothly.

He earned a slap to the face for his reply before Smartmouth stalked off into the streets away from Mextron. He opened his mouth to laugh.

"And if you so much as _giggle_, I'm laying you out flat across this street!" Smartmouth warned loudly over her shoulder.

Mextron covered his mouth and smothered the chuckles.

Thus their day began. Shadowleap found a way to question about mines and energy supplies without being questioned; he claimed that he was a run away tourist's son looking for work. To distract people from his eyes, his hands would make a sudden dart for anything shiny or valuable with in the facility so that the person he was questioning had to look down at his hands or keep an eye on their things to keep a track of them.

Smartmouth pretended that she was looking for her brother who had ran away to "some mine or factory of one kind or another" to follow his best friend, who had been "recruited into some sort of secret militia or weapons smuggling business", and questioned heavily on the location and conditions of the mines and factories. Even when her story proved somewhat holey, all she had to do was cross her arms across her chest and press up, or cross one leg, skillfully hypnotizing with her femininity.

Sometimes, she approached a couple of men and asked something random just to twist the boys around her little finger. She had seen hints of this ability on TV before, but had never realized that it could work with _her_. She enjoyed the power of manipulation and seduction.

_Oh, I __like__ this,_ she thought with sly amusement as she watched two men break into a fight over her.

Mextron went around with the same excuse as Shadowleap; he needed work. But he did not add any back story. The sun was passing past its high point and he found himself strolling the streets, looking for another inn or bar to walk into and begin questioning. Suddenly, he heard the sound of metal sliding on metal and a massive metal hand darted out of an alley way he was passing by. The hand caught him around the waist and pulled him into the ally. Wire-filled, metal-covered bands wrapped tightly around his waist and he found himself looking up into the custom, block-helmeted face of an average Transformer.

"Hey!" he yelled, kicking and struggling in his captor's grip. "What's the big idea!?"

His captor was a Transformer; the first he had ever seen in real life other than the Decepticons. The color was yellow and black and, judging by the scratched up logo on the front of his metal chest and the license plate hanging from one shoulder, this Transformer's alt form was a massive jeep of some sort-- probably army issue. His shoulders were broad and his build was that of a barrel-chested football player. His round orange optics flickered quickly over Mextron as his yellow and black helmet glowed dully in the shadows. Sand encrusted most parts of him and even fell out in small rains from his joints. Many scars criss crossed his body and many parts of the armor were even severely chipped.

"What _are_ you?" the Transformer demanded. "I spotted you and your friends earlier and your bio-structure is making my sensors _confused!_ At first, I see human. Then my sensors argue 'Transformer'. Are you a Transformer in a hologram, maybe a Minicon?"

"What's it to you, rusty?" Mextron snapped.

"I _want _to know!" the Transformer yelled, his electronic voice rising in demand. "_What are you??_"

A shadow passed by over head so quickly that one may have assumed that it was a vulture or condor of some sort. But Mextron caught a glimpse of red and silver metal under brown hologram feathers overhead; Laserbeak. He _was_ keeping an eye on the hybrid children. A small buzz in Mextron's ear signaled that someone was opening a link to him. Soundwave's deep monotone spoke in to his ear.

_"Laserbeak detects obstacle Transformer on mission. Assistance required?"_

"Alright, big guy, what's your name?" Mextron asked the Transformer, seizing upon an idea.

"Mash," the Transformer replied, "Just Mash."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"What is he doing?" Megatron growled, watching the scene through Laserbeak's optics in one of the scientist's enormous screening rooms that had been rigged into a temporary, crude surveillance station.

"Why isn't he requesting Laserbeak to just blast the mech off unless-"

He stopped short, optics opening wider in realization. Soundwave, standing near by with his hands clasped behind his back, tilted his head to the side curiously. Effort 137 stood in the shadows beneath them, using his technopath abilities to rewire and reprogram the numerous large screens. He glanced up out of curiosity from the corner of his hidden goggle-covered eyes.

"He isn't really thinking…?" Megatron muttered, trailing off.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"Well, Mash, why are you so interested in _my _affairs and _my_ origins?"

"Because I hate not knowing who or what the people around me are," Mash replied. "I always need to know who or what the people around me are that way I can find out what I can do to them in case of an emergency."

Laserbeak circled overhead again before landing on the edge of one of the buildings making the ally. The fake condor's brown feathered head tilted to the side as it listened down on the conversation.

"A tentative mech, eh," Mextron asked. "What made you that?"

"Rough life," Mash said, shifting his shoulders nervously and drawing Mextron's attention to the pale metal scars there.

"You're too old to be born after the end of the Autobot-Decepticon War, and I see no insignias or scars of them, so let me guess," Mextron suggested. "You were a bounty hunter and a soloist. Now you hang out, bored and without a means of getting energon except what ever odd job you pick up."

"One of the mines has me employed as a guard; for every hour I guard the mine, I get a galleon of energon," Mash objected weakly.

That confirmed Mextron's suspicions.

"There are better employment opportunities than guarding fleshies for pocket change out there, you know," Mextron informed cryptically, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Like what?" Mash asked, a hint of desperation penetrating his voice.

_"Good thinking, boy,_" Megatron suddenly said into Mextron's ear piece, _"Installing the first seeds of the Decepticon expansion with in the community, I like that; very clever. But let him off at that. Laserbeak?"_

With a mighty screech, the disguised condor suddenly plunged down from the roof, flapping at Mash's face until he dropped Mextron. Mextron hit the ground running and sprinted away from the preoccupied mech.


	13. Kobano, Part 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Chapter 12: Kobano, Part 2**

A block away from where Laserbeak was keeping the mercenary mech Mash occupied, something crashed and Mextron skidded to a halt, looking towards the building where the crashing was occurring. Smartmouth showed up at his side, one hand clamped down on her hat as she breathed heavily.

"What's with you?" Mextron asked. "What's wrong?"

"Breaker Lab agents," Smartmouth panted, looking around warily. "A bunch escaped the original take over. We got to get the idiot and go _now_!"

"Coming through!!" a familiar voice yelled.

Shadowleap jumped from a second story window of one of the brick buildings across the street, crashing through the canvas roof of one of the street side booths and landing in a roll in the dirt below. He rolled beneath a parked, ancient, beaten up pick up truck. Even as Smartmouth and Mextron watched, something happened. The shadows and Shadowleap seemed to become one and their eyes involuntarily shook as they tried finding their friend. Then Shadowleap appeared beside and behind them, crashing through some crates as he finished his roll. The teens turned towards him as a small troop of well-dressed and well-armed men, all too familiar to their old environment, exited the building.

"Woha," Shadowleap exclaimed, his eyes rolling in his sockets as Mextron and Smartmouth helped him to his feet. "What a rush!"

"There they are!" one of the Breaker Labs guards yelled as some charged across the street towards the kids.

One of the leading guards raised their gun and Smartmouth's red eyes twitched in fear, squinting reflexively as she hunched her shoulders. Too fast for the eye to see, twin small white blasts shot from the space over her shoulders, striking the leading guard and knocking him back into his friends. Smartmouth blinked dumbly.

"Wha-what, huh, did I just do that?" she asked stupidly, looking around in surprise.

Mextron smacked the dizzy and dazed Shadowleap and Smartmouth on the shoulders, shoving them towards the exterior of town. He could feel his temper rising from the unwanted disruption of Mash and the reunion with the same forces that had survived the initial wipe out. It was annoying how quickly things went out of hand so easily, but he supposed that he would have to deal with that in the feuture. That, and he hated these guards with a passion, having remembered how they always called him a cold machine behind his back when _they_ were always cold to whatever friendly advances he had tried while being a naïve five year old.

"Move!" he roared.

Snapping out of their surprise, Shadowleap and Smartmouth broke into a run, escaping the small dirt town and passing a few homeless peoples' shacks of tin and plastic as they ran out towards the desert where they would rendezvous with the Seekers by a dried up well.

"Did I _teleport_ back there?" Shadowleap was asking repeatedly.

"Did I kill that guy with _shoulder shots_?" Smartmouth asked.

"Yes and _yes_, now go faster!" Mextron barked, smacking both upside the head before glancing behind him at the other Breaker Lab guards following them on foot. "They're gaining on-"

Suddenly, snowmobiles with thick treads on either side shot around some of the buildings, kicking up sand as they sped over the loose material and shot towards them. These were sandmobiles; they were just a small improvised invention to get around lawless North Africa, and was the get away charger for many a bandit in the sandy desert.

"Slag, this isn't good," Mextron muttered as they topped a sand dune and went sliding down the other side into the heavily shaded valley below. In front of them, the sun was enormous and beginning to set in shimmering colors under the hot sands.

An engine roared and the kids stopped, looking up at the source of the engine. One of the sandmobile riders looked over their shoulder, stopping at the peak of the dune. A massive black and yellow army jeep suddenly plowed into the sandmobile, sending the rider screaming and flying away as the sandmobile itself crashed down the steep dune. The jeep that had wrecked the sandmobile rocketed into space before transforming and landing in a crouched position behind the kids.

"Mash??" Mextron asked dumbly at the familiar purposeless guard.

"Kid, I'm desperate," Mash said, looking at Mextron.

He paused to draw a long-barreled gun from his thigh and shoot at some of the Breaker Lab guards appearing on top of the dune. The humans fell back, screaming in pain and death as golden plasma ate their anti-laser fire armor and melted their exposed faces.

"What's this 'better employment opportunity' that you told me about?" Mash asked.

Three jet engines came from overhead then and Mash looked up. He gasped as he stood up, even as the three familiar jets transformed and landed in crouching positions, surrounding the three kids and Transformer. If Mash had been hoping for a trial session to try this "employment opportunity" or even just an _interview_, there was going to be none of it; he was sucked into what ever was happening, whether he wanted to be or not.

"_Skywarp; teleport our new recruit back to base immediately,_" Megatron ordered. _"Thundercracker; carry Shadowleap."_

"Hey, I'm Skywarp; I'll be your teleporting prankster maniac today," Skywarp said with a tricky grin as he seized one of the shocked Mash's arms.

Mextron saw Mash's face opening up in pure shock for a split second. The two disappeared in a purple flash and a pop as Thundercracker, with a noticeable grimace, picked up the dirty Mextron and Shadowleap, tucking them into his cockpit before transforming and shooting into the sky. Starscream turned and eagerly shot some more Breaker Lab guards before snatching Smartmouth roughly up in one hand, stuffing her into his chest-bound cock pit up-side-down before transforming and blasting into the air.

"Hey, Thundercracker, you're going kind of fast!" Starscream called after the indigo and black jet as Laserbeak and Buzzsaw came up on either wing of Starscream and followed the red, blue, and white jet.

"_I hate organics in me!!!!"_ Thundercracker screamed, his jets making multiple sonic booms as he sped off towards the Breaker Labs-come-Decepticon Headquarters.

Mextron couldn't help but laugh.


	14. Back to Base With Powers

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Chapter 13: Back to Base With Powers**

When they got back to the headquarters, Mash was already in the garage with Skywarp at his side. The beaten up black and yellow jeep was looking around in panic and surprise, obviously not knowing what was going on here. He had known with the rest of the universe that Decepticons had been defeated, and yet, here he stood beside one after being kidnapped!

Thundercracker slowed in the garage before turning himself, nose pointed towards the floor, and opened the glass top of his cock pit. The jet beneath Mextron and Shadowleap heaved like a flexing muscle and they were sent flying out of the cockpit to land in a tumble on the floor. Well, at least Mextron made a rough landing. Half way through the fall, Shadowleap flickered out of existence and reappeared on one of the enormous crates of supplies stashed on the edge of the garage. A hiss of air indicated Mash's response while one of Skywarp's metal eye brows rose up in surprise. Mextron sat up and he and Shadowleap exchanged looks. Mextron rolled his eyes.

"Fine, you teleport," Mextron admitted, "but I'm warning you: one prank on me because of it and I'm cramming you up one of the Seekers' jet turbines."

"Yes, sir," Shadowleap said, saluting somewhat shakily. Whether he was shaky from the new powers or Mextron's deadly serious threat was difficult to determine.

Thundercracker was too busy dancing around in horror and disgust to notice.

"Oh Primus, oh Primus, oh Primus, oh _PRIMUS,_ that was so _gross_!!!" the Seeker wailed, brushing himself off as his wings shuttered in horror. "Dirt--dirt--organics--dirt--_eww!!_"

"Wow, Thundercracker," Starscream said, slowing to a calm stop on the floor and opening his cock pit to allow Smartmouth out. "I never knew that you were such a _prissy_."

"_I still hate having organics in my cockpit!!!"_ Thundercracker roared with a volume that made light objects and robotic metal plating shutter against each other.

"Yeah, and I thought _Starscream_ was the wussey," Smartmouth joked.

A metal slip of Starscream's jet form unpeeled itself from the body to deftly flick Smartmouth in the back end and sending her tumbling heels-over-head, crying out weakly, off of him and onto the paved floor below. She landed ridiculously on her back like a doll while Starscream stood up and deftly brushed his shoulders and arms off. Buzzsaw and Laserbeak finally entered the garage as the doors began to slid shut, cutting off the strong golden sun set rays. They disappeared into the shadows on the edge of the garage and there was a sound of them transforming and a click as they returned to a certain compartment. For a moment, the garage was in darkness as the doors shut and the lights failed to come on.

"Wait, what's going on here??" Mash asked as his chest and shoulder-mounted jeep lights came on and made strong cones of light against the darkness. "Where am I? What do you want me?"

"Isn't it obvious, Mash?" Megatron asked, coming out of the shadows.

Mash turned and gasped as the lights came on, at first dim, but lightening up to reveal all the Decepticons and their Efforts.

"We're recruiting," Megatron told the jeep.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Mash was sworn in that night. Plans were made to start a series of raids on the surrounding mines and factories. Megatron was incredibly pleased to hear that North Africa would be easy to be taken due to its lack of military and the peoples' desire for leadership.

"They might not like me," Megatron said in the main hall where the maps and plans were being projected onto the wall by Shockwave—a substitute for a map room until a proper one could be fixed. "But at least I'll crush any pests like those rowdy tribes who wish to become ruler of these lands."

"You're not _seriously_ considering _ruling_ those pests, Megatron, are you?" Starscream asked. "That's sinking low, even for _you_!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Megatron snapped. "I'm not a King of Worms like _you_, Starscream! I'll just manipulate them when need be and kill them."

Starscream was defiantly angry at the remark and he shot Smartmouth an "I-Blame-You" Look.

After the plans and the swearing in of the new Decepticon Mash, Megatron ordered Mextron, Shadowleap, and Smartmouth to meet him in one of the large labs that he was starting to make his own room. The original tables had been smashed and removed.

"According to Cartwheel," he told the three. "You three drank some energon just before the mission. She's an awful liar and a worst hider of secrets from me. Now, is she telling the truth?"

Smartmouth and Shadowleap exchanged looks across Mextron then they both looked at Mextron between them. He understood; leaders had to answer for their followers' actions.

"Yes, sir, we did," Mextron admitted.

"Why? The energon could have poisoned you."

Much to Mextron's inner surprise, Shadowleap spoke up.

"I-I started it, sir!" the boy piped up, the words tumbling out as he spoke fast. "I wanted to see what would happen and at first, nothing happened, but when the Breaker Lab guards that had escaped the initial attack ambushed me I got scared and I teleported and-"

"You drank it out of curiosity," Megatron stated. "So, why did _you_ drink an unauthorized share of energon, Smartmouth and Mextron?"

"I had a strange craving for it," Mextron stated truthfully.

"I just wanted to piss you off in some way," Smartmouth said easily, shrugging lazily.

The casual response made Mextron whip his head around towards her in shock, his eyes bulging in surprise. What the hell was she doing!? She was embarrassing him!

"Congratulations, you succeeded," Megatron replied, rolling his optics. "You are to polish Mash up tomorrow all by yourself and all three of you will be working to help properly convert the rooms of the headquarters into adequate and needed rooms and stations until you drop from lack of energy."

"Wait, literally-_until I drop_!?" Smartmouth exclaimed, much to Mextron's annoyance. They had stolen energon; of _course_ they were going to get in trouble!

"Did I stutter?" Megatron snarled down at her. "Don't make me make it even _more_ severe. It is only because of your unusual compounds and situation that I do not punish you more severely for energon theft! Don't think that because you are _related_ to us that you-"

Mextron was _really_ angry now. Not only was one of his people embarrassing him by back talking to their superior and his father, but Smartmouth seemed ready to start into one of her legendary screaming fits and Megatron was only becoming more heated about it. Wasn't it bad enough that they were to work their crime off until they passed out without instigating the Master of the Malicious and King of Cruelty?

Needless to say, Mextron was barely keeping his temper under wraps, but it found a way out of him. It took the form of a small burst of white light just over his head, popping like a large bubble. Megatron fell silent instantly and shutters shut over his optics in a rare confused blink. Smartmouth and Shadowleap were looking ahead, but their eyes widened before they slowly turned their heads to stare at Mextron. Mextron's anger instantly chilled into embarrassing confusion. What had just happened?

"What," Megatron said. "Was _that?_"

"Umm, an epiphany?" Mextron suggested dumbly.

No, that was some sort of energy flux!" Megatron declared. "Just like a young mech when their cannons malfunction while they're growing! It's a sort of distention of energy to keep the mech from being overloaded-do it again!"

"How?" Mextron asked as the embarrassment grew and escaped by the same means as the anger. Another pop and small, brief flash of white light appeared, then vanished over his head.

"Woha, Mex!" Shadowleap snickered. "You're like a malfunctioning video game light!"

"Wow, Shadowleap, that's a long word for you," Smartmouth informed.

"Wait, Shadowleap, did you say that you _teleported_??" Megatron asked, turning towards the nine year old.

"Yeah!" Shadowleap said eager to tell his tale. "I was in an inn trying to find more info about the factories when the guards came down from their rooms and recognized me! Apparently, some of them, including some scientists, managed to escape the labs and are hanging around to see if they can take back the labs without getting in trouble with the world governments or the Autobots. Well, I ran from them and tried rolling under an old truck to escape them. I realized that I wouldn't get away from the guards on time and just like that-- zip!—I got all dark and light and airy, then I wound up clear across the street! And when a guard tried shooting us, Smartmouth got scared and shot them with some white stuff from her shoulders! "

"I wasn't scared!" Smartmouth objected.

"Shut up and come with me," Megatron ordered.

On silent orders sent through head sets and a short run later, Shadowleap, Smartmouth, and Mextron were in the rather empty energon storage room with Megatron and Shockwave who had turned up there earlier for them.

"What is it, My Lord?" Shockwave asked. "I left Ferrofluid at directing the rebuilding of weapons cache 3, and I'm a bit leery about that lad and his sense of combining the placement patterns of hazardous materials-"

"Shut up and watch this," Megatron ordered. Picking up a small energon cube from one of the small piles created from the labs' energon generators; he turned and set it down on the floor in front of the three kids. The cube, held in his palm, was the size of a square, four-foot tall kiddy pool for the kids.

Shockwave's shock was evident when Megatron ordered the kids, "Drink up."

"Sir!" Shockwave exclaimed, his ear fins standing on end.

"Don't question me, Shockwave, just observe!" Megatron ordered.

"Yummy!" Shadowleap said, jumping over and leaning over the edge of the pool and sucking some of it up with genuine greed and eagerness.

Shockwave noticeably reared back in shock. Energon was poisonous to humans! And yet, this boy was _drinking_ it _willfully_? What was going on?

Looking at the purple pool, Mextron was surprised to feel the same greedy eagerness rise with in him. The only time he had ever felt like this was in the month of December leading up to Christmas when he could get the delightful sweets of cookies, fudge, and chocolate and action movies; all were delicacies whose rarity made them all the more sweeter. Now, with the energon, it was as if he was feeling all the anxiety at once and it took him a great deal of restraint to keep himself from jumping over the edge of the small energon cube and hoggishly sucking down all the purple energon. Was this natural?

Judging by the nervous way Smartmouth was looking around and around, placing one hand on her hip and nibbling on her finger tips as she shifted from foot to foot, she was feeling the same anxiety. When Shadowleap finally dropped down from the side of the pool with a content sigh, Smartmouth darted forward and began to take her fill.

As she drank, a bright glow came to Shadowleap's red eyes, making him look around, as if he were seeing the large room for the first time and it was a wonder in his eyes.

"S-Sir!" Shockwave gasped, picking something up on his bio scanners.

"I know, Shockwave!" Megatron whispered in awe to the scientist. "His energy readings are jumping!"

_"Ya-hooey!"_ Shadowleap suddenly declared, jumping up.

His body became a pure black shape for a moment before appearing on top of an energon stack. He disappeared numerous times, showing up all over the room, under the mechs, and on their shoulders, cheering all the while. When Smartmouth finally came away from the cube, whipping her mouth in content, Shadowleap appeared on top of her, wrapping his arms around her neck and making her catch him, bride style, to keep him from dragging her to the floor.

"How did I _live_ before this??" Shadowleap whooped.

Smartmouth flung Shadowleap down. Shadowleap disappeared before he hit the floor and appeared crouching at the foot of the wall near by.

"Don't jump on me like that again, you little twerp!" Smartmouth snarled, her own eyes flashing red as she struck her arms behind her, ending in fists, in a classic pose of anger.

Just as she shouted, twin cones of white light appeared over her shoulders and shot at Shadowleap. Only Shadowleap's teleportation ability managed to save him, laugh in the air, as the white lights struck the floor where he had been and made a small black crater.

"Astonishing!" Shockwave gasped. "The energon is awakening their powers!"

"Drink, boy, drink!" Megatron ordered Mextron.

Mextron looked up at the two excited, eager Decepticons, then at the small pool of energon. Calmly, with only his shaking hands belaying his calm exterior, he stepped up to the edge of the kiddy pool. Leaning over, he placed his lips to the surface of the cool, airy liquid and began to suck it up and swallow it like he was drinking from a water fountain. As he drank, the energon seemed to soak into his throat, rejuvenating it from a thirst he did not know that he suffered. He closed his eyes as the energon reached his stomach and he felt it filling him, refreshing and recharging him in a way that no amount of sleep could ever do so. Had he really been this tired all his life? Had he really been this malnourished throughout his life? Why had he never noticed before? It was like a man who had eaten dirt all his life before finding the ambrosia of fruit. Or a man who had spent his entire life starving and dehydrated before feasting. It was amazing and wonderful!

When Mextron could do no more, he sat back, eyes still closed and enjoying the feel.

"Well, Mex?" Shadowleap asked eagerly, appearing at his side. "Anything?"

Mextron opened his eyes, but was disappointed to feel nothing. No new abilities, no new strengths. His skin did not even become interlaced with the straight lines and his eyes didn't even glow. He looked away in shame.

"No, nothing," he said sadly.

There was a sad, awkward pause.

"Well," Megatron grunted, straightening up and a mask of seriousness and annoyance crossing his face. "Figures that _my_ son would be broken. Primus hates me like that. But Shadowleap's and Smartmouth's success clearly shows that energon exposure is just what these flesh bags need to get some proper metal on them. Efforts, come to energon storage room now! Soundwave, you come, too, and prepare to record some extraordinary footage!"

His voice boomed as he accessed the labs' intercom system and spoke through out the labs.

Mextron, mean while, could not help but hang his head in shame. Some how, in spite of his best expectations being that Megatron would at least acknowledge his existence, having Megatron make it seem like that his being broken was to be expected really hurt him. He felt gentle hands on him and looked up to see Smartmouth, of all people, resting a reassuring hand on his arm.

"Don't worry," she whispered. "I'm sure that you'll get powers soon. Then you can kick my shoulder-laser ass from one end of the Sahara and back!"

Mextron smiled at her, "Thanks, Smarts, I needed that."

"Oh, Primus, _Smarts_?? That's worst than Screamer!"

Mextron laughed, privately glad that he had friends.

**Public Announcment: Whee! Fun chapter! Any who, in this story most of your beloved Decepticons are long sense dead due to human temper in the Last Battle and the Great Lord Megatron will be recruiting new mechs into the Decepticon Army. Got a Decepticon-based character floating around? Send me a link to a picture of them and their profile and they just might get into the story! I mean, if I'm gonna be throwing in a bunch of OC's, might as well gie someone else a chanse to shine, right?**

**And to those who have been reviewing and reading-- thank yee! ^_^**


	15. Return of a Force

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Chapter 15: Return of a Force**

The Mine 65 was set inside the mountains near Kobano. The tunnel opening stretched high up the rocky, barren cliffs faces and many a track led down to the main track on the ground, which led to the smelting furnaces. After being smelted and cleansed of impurities, the mined metals would be loaded onto trucks and sold off. But even as the miners slept in the barracks, guards patrolled the edges of the mines, keeping sharp eyes out for any intruders or enemy clans seeking the resources. Among the automatic rifle-carrying human guards were a few Transformer guards as well. In alt form or true form, the advanced alien robots patrolled and kept an eye out for intruders, hoping that at the end of the week they could get their payment of energon or repair metal. They were rough types, having to run away from some bad past or another, and the lawless North Africa was the perfect frontier to hide in for all criminals, thus explaining the unusual diversity of humans and Transformers alike on this dry continent.

In one of the guard towers, a surveillance station had been set up so that the entire mining complex could be reviewed as a panel of six carefully stacked TV screens, flicking between the numerous cameras stationed about the complex as needed and programmed. The human guard there sat back in his seat, looking bored, but secretly on high alert. Too often would a mine, especially as one as big and successfully as Mine 65, be ambushed by an all manner of clans or gangs seeking wanted resources. Sometimes, even a Transformer would attack if they were desperate enough. It all came with the job and life of anarchy.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder.

The guard turned, only to find no one there. Someone snickered in front of him and he turned around to find himself nose-to-nose with a just-above-human-sized lavender Transformer, grinning enormously into his face. A red visor that reminded him of over-sized cop shades covered the Transformer's optics. Beside him was a kid, probably nine to eleven years old, in a grey and white uniform of some sort. Both were crouched on top of the stacks of TV's that made the surveillance equipment and both were grinning at the guard.

"What the-!?" he yelled, jerking back in his seat.

"Let's get read to _rumbllllllllllllllle!"_ the lavender robot yelled, raising his fists.

The fists transformed into large pile drivers, which the mech proceeded to swing down and smash into the TV screens in an amazing shower of blinding white sparks, flashing in the black night. He clipped the guard's knee as he swung and the human fell back out of his chair and onto the floor, crying out in pain as something in his knee shattered. Overhead, jets screamed overhead and something released a shot at one of the smelting buildings.

Chaos ensued.

"Transformer attack!" someone shouted over the announcement system. "Large, well-skilled Transformer attack!"

The three jets that had come in transformed with a landing crash. Two landed directly on top of two of the largest Transformer guards, knocking them out instantly. The third teleported between two close Transformer guards and knocked them out with a boot to the head each. A large black and yellow jeep charged into the mining complex, carelessly side-swiping any humans too close to get out of its way, before transforming. Mash had been polished and fixed up that day. All signs of unloved dirt had been cleaned off, scars had been smoothed over, notches had been filled in, and his armor glinted like gold and obsidian in the fire light. Megatron didn't like having "scrap piles" in his ranks and had made both him and Mash happy with the makeover.

"Give 'em hell!" Mash crowed, drawing two long guns from thigh casings and shooting at the humans.

With all the fighting going on, everyone was too much in a panic or a fight for their lives to get a good look at their attackers. As the three jet Transformers began to eagerly fly around and shoot down upon their fleshling prey, the human boy teleported his lavender robot partner to the ground from the look out tower, where they entered into battle beside a black panther Transformer, a red and black Transformer, and a red and black and yellow and black bird robots. The surprise attack was a huge success.

No humans were spared. Most begged for mercy, many fought back, and others were shot in their beds without even knowing that was happening, but all died. These attackers had something personal to settle about their previous captivity. The Transformer guards, however, with eleven in all, were rounded up and forced to get on their knees in defeat in a line. Unconscious guards were lightly smacked in the face until they woke up. It was only then, as the action slowed down, did the Transformer guards get a good look at the band of Transformer attackers that had caught them.

One of the prisoners was staring at Mash. He stared back at the prisoner, his newly vintage red optics flicking in the shadows. Apparently, they knew each other. Mask turned as approaching metal foot steps could be heard and the prisoner staring at him gasped when they saw the sharp-faced Decepticon logo on Mash's shoulder. The feeling of awed shock caught on as the leader of these attackers came out of the darkness.

"You're supposed to be dead!" one of the Transformers exclaimed to Megatron. "All of ya!"

"Well, humans were never smart to begin with," Megatron grunted. "And we _are_ back now. And we are going to take back our power! The Decepticon was a force of heartless, powerful Transformers out to take what was theirs and cleanse the universe of all weaklings, and we _will_ be a force of heartless, powerful Transformers out to take what is ours and cleanse this universe of all bleeding flesh bags! But…"

He paused, scanning his red optics over the prisoner Transformers. Around them, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Starscream, Soundwave, and Mash guarded them. A ways away, Shadowleap, Ravage, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, Frenzy, and Rumble kept watch for any trespassers. The prisoners exchanged looks, curious as to what the infamous Lord Megatron wanted from them.

"We need more troops," Megatron said. "And we are recruiting. Now, don't tell me that you _really_ want to keep obeying humans for the rest of your lives. Don't tell me that you want to continuously _bow_ to the annoying little flesh bags who demand their superiority when they'll be dead before you're even aged! Do you want to show who is superior? Do you want to have glory and power? Do you want to _live_?" That last hint got the prisoners. "Then swear your loyalty to me, Megatron, and become a Decepticon!" Megatron smacked a fist to his chest. "Who is with me?"

"We are, Lord Megatron!" the prisoners chorused.

"Then kneel and swear your loyalty to me!"

Off to the side, Shadowleap snickered and Ravage, standing by him, tilted his head curiously at him.

"Boy, it's gonna be awkward to explain why he has 'annoying little flesh bags' in his troops!" he snickered.

Ravage sniffed in agreement.

Sure enough, later that night, when the new recruits had been escorted to the headquarters, the first thing they saw in the light of the main hall was Smartmouth, practicing some fighting techniques.

"Hey! What's a flesh bag doing here?" one of the new recruits suddenly asked.

Smartmouth turned on him, her red eyes flashing. Her newly discovered twin light shots leaped from her chest and hit the questioner smack in the chest, knocking him onto his aft. What Transformers didn't shout in amused surprise either stared at Smartmouth with dropped jaws or simply laughed outright at their stunned comrade.

"Smartmouth-" Megatron began to growl.

"I know, I know, don't kill the news guys," Smartmouth said, rolling her eyes. "I just want to make sure that they know that no 'flesh bag' on this base is an actual human."

"Then what _are_ you?" someone asked.

"A small chick with a big mouth, bigger attitude, and the ability to keep you in line," Smartmouth growled, patting her shoulders to remind them of her shot.

**Author's Note: Still looking for recruits into Megatron's army. If you want a toon in the story, it's not too late! Decepticon-based only mechs, though, please. ^_**


	16. Expansion

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Chapter 15: Expansion**

Things snow balled from that night.

Every time the Decepticons went out to collect metals and energon, they came back with recruits along with the shipments of ore and energon. These recruits were sometimes eager to join the notorious Decepticons. Most were too terrified to say no, or actually tried to escape the Decepticons. To these, Mextron found a purpose with himself. These terrified and rebellious Transformers he would talk to individually in private, catching them while they were alone at energon duties or on guard duty and speaking with them about them selves. At first, they would be wary of this strange apparent human with Transformer compounds with in himself and energon in his systems, but gradually, he would chip them down until they were confessing why they were in the lawless continent-abusive home life, lack of adventure, no glory-and he would turn these reasons so that it would sound like being a true Decepticon would help them fulfill their wishes. He always managed to manipulate them into a more agreeable mood.

With the new recruits, the Decepticons were able to make larger and larger raids and, by using an intricate laser destruction system invented by Ferrofluid and Shockwave to break down the labs' hardy walls, they were able to extend the base below the ground and sprawl it like the roots of a tree. Labs were turned into barracks, training rooms, and storage units. The enormous cafeteria became the wreck room where Decepticons could hang out and have energon. Only a couple bathrooms were saved for the Efforts.

Speaking of the Efforts, they became more involved in the Decepticon actions. All the children were given a diet of energon that seemed to suffice for usual food nutrients and lowered on body waste. Hence, even when the cafeteria food began to run low, there was no fear of starvation as the energon was more than enough to keep the Efforts alive. A tiny part of the labs was kept as it was so that the Efforts would have a place to attend to their hygienic needs and rest. They continued to wear their grey and white uniforms, having nothing else to wear. Every time the Decepticons went out on a raid, Shockwave was always left in charge of the base, sometimes accompanied by Soundwave and Effort 137, which meant, unfortunately, baby sitting the kids that had to stay behind, which was always Ferrofluid, Mextron, and Cartwheel, due to their lack of powers. Mextron and Ferrofluid were tolerable, but Cartwheel always wound up bugging the hell out of the poor mech for entertainment. He soon had Thundercracker stealing books to bring back to base so the little girl could read something and _leave Shockwave the hell alone._

Shadowleap's ability to teleport grew in distance and number of teleporting times in one stretch so that it became a common annoyance for him and Skywarp to go porting around the base simply to bug people. Smartmouth practiced her shoulder shooting ability until she mastered the ability to send herself into a super jump or a sort of glide by shooting towards the ground. Why the shots came from her shoulders was yet to be figured out. Everyone learned to get the hell away from her when she was mad, lest she loose control and shoot some one up. This was the reason of many Transformers' visits to the Decepticons' three newly recruited medics and the result of Smartmouth actually being flicked across the room by Megatron and flung into an empty energon cube or room for a few days in solitary confinement as punishment.

The Decepticons' reach extended out and around the headquarters, well past Kobano, and it soon became a common bit of knowledge that the Decepticons were back from the dead and were coming back in full force. Humans became fearful of the Decepticons' destructive, kill-all-humans' raids and Transformers became more hesitant to reveal themselves or began planning what they would do if they were caught into the Decepticons.

The only reason why the world beyond North Africa was not alerted was because, frankly, it was a no man's land. One could not make profit there without handing out huge amounts of land rental money and protection fees to the locals, there was no government to speak of, and even the media had grown bored with the lawlessness, deciding that it was better to investigate a Transformer-human marraige in Crazy California or check out the two-headed horse in China. No one cared about Earth's arm pit of a land; a gross way of putting it, but true.

Bottom line was that the Decepticons' strength was growing back exponentially and it was only a matter of time before Megatron would feel ready with his small, growing army and they would reach past the easily manipulated, secluded, ignored North Africa and go for larger game around the world.

**AN: Short chap, I know. Call it an intermission so if you're reading this all in one go your brain won't scream, "AUUUUGH! WORDS!!!" Probably gonna double post today... OC requests open until further notice!**


	17. Three Months Later

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Chapter 16: Three Months Later**

The buildings burned in the sand, blackening it as black smoke drifted off into the clear blue desert sky. There were dying screams from humans and some frightened snarls from Transformers as they were forcefully escorted to one edge of the oil field where Megatron and the Decepticon raiding party waited with three other Transformer guards. Effort 137 stood beside Soundwave, who stood beside Megatron. Shadowleap crouched on the edge of one of the buildings near by, watching the prisoner interrogation between Rumble and Laserbeak. Shadowleap and Rumble had become very good friends by now since Shadowleap had to constantly teleport Rumble around to the surveillance stations to smash up the equipment. Smartmouth stood to the side, examining her fingernails with feline smugness, occasionally glancing up at the burning buildings-her handy work.

"Hmm," Megatron grunted, examining the four captured Transformer guards. "Not too many of you, are there?"

"Pay sucks," one of the Transformers grunted, mandibles around his mouth clicking their tips impatiently against each other, "You recruiting still, Lord?"

"Yes, I am," Megatron said, practically purring the agreement.

"Sweet! I'm in, sir!" the mandible-carrying Transformer declared happily.

"Hey, Boss!" Skywarp yelled, appearing with a pop overhead. In his arms he held a struggeling red, orange, and black Seeker femme. Several whistles, winks, and elbow prods passed among the men.

"If you wnat to keep it for anything other than fighting purposes, Skywarp, kill it," Megatron said without even looking up.

"Let go of me you slagging womanizer!" the woman suddenly snarled as a compartment in her chest fell open.

A sleek, four-legged, turqouise-metal creature leaped from the compartment, metal-fiber bushy tail bristling, before it latched itself to Skywarp's face and began chewing. He hit the ground on his aft hard with the annoyed-looking femme beside him, glaring at him and yet, looking smug at her pet's carnage.

"Aieee! My face! Get it off! Get it off!" Skywarp screeched, pawing at the critter on his face.

"Leave it," Thundercracker said. "It'll be an improvement!"

"What do you know," Starscream commented. "A turbofox. Don't see too many of those these days."

"Actually, in your absence, PETA was ever so gracious to brin them back from extinction," the femme said, somewhat proudly. "Good worker, those PETA people. Insane, but good workers."

"Femme," Megatron growled, aiming his arm cannon at the femme without looking at her. "Call your pet off my Seeker before it finds itself without a mistress."

"Corona, return!" the femme ordered.

With a small bark, the Cybertronian fox darted in a turqouise blurr back to its female master's chest compartment, transforming into a sort of round disk before the chest shut over it.

"What is your name, femme?" Megatron asked. "And what are you doing here? You appear too well kept for the likes of a rough area like this barren, cursed waste land."

"Solarflare," the femme replied, standing up and brushing herself off. "And I work for Intergalactic Corps. I _was_ on my way back from delivering a private message between business men until your teleporting _freak_ here decided that he wanted to club me upside the head and drag me back to his cave."

"Did it ever strike you, lady," Skywarp growled, whipping energon away from the scratches on his cheeks. "To fly _in stealth _over this area?"

"No, I didn't know what 'this area' was," Solarflare said with a shrug. "This is my first time on Earth. Besides, only wussies need stealth..." Her wings stood straight in pride. "I'm _fast_."

"Well, no one's fast enough to out run one of my cannon shots," Megatron growled, aiming his cannon at Solarflare.

"Except Autobot Blurr," Shadowleap muttered.

"Shut up," Skywarp hissed.

"So give me your answer," Megatron continued, ignoring the two. "Will you join the Decepticons or die?"

"The Decepticons?" Solarflare exclaimed. "Holy Primus! So you guys really _are_ back! And here I thought you were just ecking out a living."

"Femme," Megatron said in the following silence as his cannon began to charge up. "Sense when did the idea that I want to just 'eck out a living' _ever_ cross _anyone's_ minds?"

"Good point," Solarflare replied. "Alright, alright, you can put that thing away; I'll join. Sheesh, if I'm gonna roll my morals around delivering messages of shaddy deals to people, might as well do it for people with a cause."

"Smart girl," Megatron commented, lowering his arm cannon and turning away.

Effort 137 spoke up then.

"Sir," Effort 137 said, tilting his head to the side. "It seems that we forgot a human—hiding under a tarp in a sand dune just against the building over there."

After having a diet of energon, it was revealed that Effort 137, unlike his father, could read minds of organics and mechs alike from a great distance while Soundwave could only do so via direct contact with mind probes or scanning a Transformer's main frame. It made Effort 137 a valuable asset when it came to detecting hiding humans.

"Rumble?" Megatron said.

"I'm on it, Lord Megatron!" Rumble said, leaping down from his perch even as his arms transformed. Upon landing, Rumble slammed his pile drivers into the ground, making the ground shake enough so that everyone had trouble keeping their balance. The sands leaped up and a tarp was revealed to have been hiding under the sand against the building. The tarp shifted aside and a terrified man peeked out.

"Alright, another one-!" Rumble laughed, transforming his arms before drawing his gun. He aimed it, but Effort 137 spoke and stopped him.

"Wait; he has a proposition for our Lord."

Everyone looked at Megatron and the corner of his mouth twitched up in a sneer of disgust.

"Alright then, on your feet and tell me this proposition," Megatron growled.

Rumble seized the shaking man's brown arm and hauled him to his feet. The human stood, knees knocking together in terror as he swallowed several times, sweat not related to the hot sun running down his skin as his black bear-surrounded lips stammered uselessly.

"Shoot-" Megatron began to say.

"_Wait!!"_ the man screamed, his voice surprisingly loud in the fire crackling quietness. "I know many people in the two towns near here, and we promise to give you what ever you want if you will let us live!"

"Let you live in exchange for whatever we want?" Megatron inquired, tilting his head to the side curiously. "Sounds like a good offer. Alright, then. What's your name?"

"Mu-Mufasa, sir."

"Well, Mufasa…" Megatron suddenly raised his cannon. "There is nothing from you that we can not take."

Mufasa's scream was cut off as Megatron's laser blast fell on him, melting what ever was not vaporized. The four Transformer guards blinked in surprise at Megatron's brutality. Solarflare patted her chest when the turbofox, Corona, whimpered with in. Shadowleap, being the gruesomely humored little boy he was, snickered at the action. Starscream allowed a small quirk of a smile yank at his face temporary; his approval for the death of another pathetic fleshling. Megatron raised his cannon and turned to the guards.

"Alright, then. Who here would like to follow the wise example of the mech with mandibles and Miss Solarflare here and join me? And who wants to be the blubbering idiot that I just vaporized?"

- - - - - - - - - - - -

_Make something happen! Make… something happen. Make… something…happen. Make something… happen. Make… something… HAPPEN!!!_

But no matter how much Mextron tried, nothing changed with in him. Even with fresh, high-quality energon running through his body, revitalizing him to the point where he could run all over the base without tiring, nothing with in or with out him changed. No teleporting abilities, no shooting abilities. Not even the original embarrassing light blip over his head occurred. Even the very first glowing lines failed to cross his skin.

Finally, Mextron opened his eyes and turned towards the wall of the empty storage unit. He leaned one arm against it as he lowered his head. After a minute, he began to pound the side of his fist against the wall, harder and harder until the little fist of flesh and muscle barked in pain. Roaring in frustration, he stepped back and kicked the wall. His booted foot whined in pain, but did not dent the wall. _Nothing_ was happening to him!! Why??? Why did life hate him??

"No powers yet?"

Mextron turned around to see that Ferrofluid was standing in the expanded door way of the laboratory-come-storage unit. Only the Efforts knew about Mextron's efforts to develop powers. Mextron suspected that Effort 137 may have told Soundwave, due to his undying loyalty to the telepathic communications officer, but judging by how the blue and grey transformer seemed to ignore Effort 137 unless absolutely necessary, he doubted that Effort 137 had been presented the chance to tell Soundwave anything. Poor kid; he was always fawning after his father in his own dignified manner and never getting so much as a glance in return. _Shadowleap_ was closer to Soundwave by being close to the pranksters Frenzy and Rumble. Mextron should talk with Effort 137 about this sad situation soon…

"No," Mextron sighed. "I can understand Cartwheel not having powers-Thundercracker doesn't have any except for making sonic booms and being a Transformer. You probably have powers in the way that you think at ridiculously fast paces and are able to do rocket science _in your head_-"

"Elementary, dear Mextron," Ferrofluid chuckled in a rare display of humor.

"But I'm _Lord Megatron's_ son, and well-" Mextron stammered, flustered as he gestured uselessly. "Shouldn't that count for _something!?_"

"Perhaps, "Ferrofluid suggested, placing a comforting hand on Mextron's shoulder. "Simply _being_ Lord Megatron's son is a power in itself. That, and being his _fleshling _son and _surviving._ Now, the raiding party's come back and one of the new recruits is an unsure type processing energon in energon storage unit four. Shouldn't you go work your magic on the poor glitch? Help him grow a back bone?"

"Thank you, Ferrofluid, I'll get right to that," Mextron said with a smile as he passed by Ferrofluid exiting the storage unit. He and Ferrofluid had reached an unofficial agreement where Ferrofluid would report to Mextron about which recruits needed persuasion for slipping into the Decepticons more easily.

"Go get them, sir," Ferrofluid said, smiling as Mextron left.

Once Mextron had left, Ferrofluid leaned his back heavily against the wall, groaning as he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. When he opened them, the silver eyes were more gold in color. The left pupil was grossly larger than the right and his vision was changing in degrees of darkness and blurriness frequently. But as the vision's acting up leveled out once more, the left pupil slowly shrank and Ferrofluid replaced his glasses, rubbing his aching temples for a moment before he heard Shockwave's voice in his ear through his ear piece.

_"Shockwave to Ferrofluid; report to Construction Room 06; we appear to be having complications with the elevator door way."_

"The door way, really, Shockwave?" Ferrofluid laughed weakly, exiting the storage unit.

_"Magnetic elevators are all more difficult to construct than Earthling elevators. Plus, I never majored in architecture,_" was the cyborg scientist's grudging reply.

**AN: Solarflare and her pet Corona is not my OC; she belongs to the Great Susinko, a loyal reader and reviewer.**


	18. Persuasion

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Chapter 18: Persuasion**

In Energon Storage 04, Mextron saw a lone pale purple and yellow Transformer with moth-like wings and matching wire antennae opening oil drums, pouring oil into empty energon cubes, compressing the cubes, and storing them in stacks on his lonesome. The black earth liquid turned into the glowing purple Cybertron life force as it passed into the cube, and the cube's became closed when the transformer pressed on it, compressing it for storage.

But Mextron had long sense grown bored with the energon transmission process; what he was interested in was the recruit. He had no doubt that this was the one Ferrofluid had mentioned; he frequently looked around, antennae twitching nervously, and often shifted his feet. He sometimes would stop in his work and stare at the wall for long periods of time, as if considering fleeing. This was the recruit Mextron had to talk down off what ever ladder he was construction to escape or cliff they were about to jump off.

"You know, if you keep pausing like that, the work will never get done," Mextron said, walking into the room.

The Transformer yipped in surprise, jumping and accidentally bumping a partially full cube of energon. A little bit of the precious purple substance spilled over the brim, but not much.

"Y-Y-Y-You're o-o-o-one of the E-E-E-Efforts t-t-t-t-they t-t-t-t-talked about!" the Transformer stuttered, "the-the-the-the k-k-k-kids with-with-with Trans-transformer comp-comp-compounds!"

"Yes, yes I am," Mextron said hands clasped behind his back to hide how they were clenching in annoyance at the stuttering. _Ho boy, a stutterer. Deep breaths, Mextron, deep breaths,_ he told himself. "What's your name, mech?"

"F-f-f-f-f-f-Flick, s-s-s-s-sir," the Transformer replied. "S-S-short for F-f-Flickword."

"Well, tell me, Flickword, what's the matter? Are you scared?" Mextron asked. He never gave his name, knowing that once he did people would know by "Megatron Junior" that he was related to Megatron and self preservation told him that this would be a bad move to pull.

"N-N-No, sir. I–I-I j-j-j-just c-c-c-c-c-c-c-cant sp-sp-_speak_ right," Flick forced out, "N-N-N-N-never h-have n-n-n-n-n-never w-w-w-w-will. It is a-it's a- it's a-"

"It's a misfiring of communicators from mind to vocal processers?" Mextron suggested.

Flick nodded.

"P-P-People s-say m-m-my n-name s-s-s-should b-be Stutter-stutter-Stuttertounge, but-but-but I c-c-c-c-c-can't s-s-s-s-say t-that; P-P-P-People w-w-w-would l-l-l-laugh at m-m-m-m-me while pro-pro-pronouncing 'S-s-s-s-stutter'."

"I see," Mextron said sympathetically. Inside, he thought, _Either that, or smack you up side the head._

"Tell me, Flickword," Mextron went on, approaching the mech and hopping on top of a filled energon cube, promoting casualness for the recruit. "Have people ever treated you different for your disability?"

Flickword nodded sadly, sitting on the floor himself. He picked up a full energon cube and turned it over in his hands absent mindedly. "It's-it's-it's why I r-r-r-r-r-r-ran a-a-a-a-a-away f-f-f-f-from my h-h-h-h-h-h_-home_ in J-J-J-Japan; o-o-o-o-other T-T-T-Transformers beat m-m-m-me up f-f-f-f-f-f-f-for my s-s-s-s-s-s-s-stutter or m-m-m-m-my l-l-l-l-looks, c-c-c-c-calling m-m-m-m-me g-g-g-g-g-gay or-or-or-or s-s-s-s-s-stupid."

_Called him gay? How human,_ Mextron thought, remembering all the documentaries about school bullying on TV over the years. _They must be Sparklings, either that or act like ones._

"Well that's not fair, now, is it?" Mextron said rhetorically. "It's not _your_ fault that you're born this way, now, is it?"

Flickword shook his head in agreement. "I-I-I-I-I-I c-c-c-c-c-c-came h-h-here b-b-b-b-b-because I-I-I-I-I-I c-c-c-c-can g-get w-w-w-w-work w-w-w-w-w-without t-t-t-t-t-t-t-talking.

"Now," Mextron said, leaning forward in sincerity on his cube. I'm not going to lie to you and say that you'll be fixed here, or that the bullying will even stop. In fact, it might get _worse_. But I _can_ promise you one thing, at least."

"W-W-W-w-w-w-w-what?"

"The opportunity to learn how to make them _stop_ bullying you," Mextron said, a cold glint entering his red and silver eyes. "Stop being so nervous and shaky. When someone punches you, you punch back. Use those big wings of your to hit them and show who ever hurts you that you can hurt them right back. Eventually, when the others see that, in spite of your speech or your looks, that you're a hard aft, they'll learn to leave you alone at least, respect you at most. Do you understand?"

"S-s-s-s-s-s-so f-f-f-f-f-f-fight b-b-b-b-back?" Flickword asked, his deep blue almond-shaped optics widening in surprise. "B-b-b-b-b-but f-f-f-f-f-fighting's n-n-n-n-not g-g-g-good, it is b-b-b-b-bad!"

Ah, Mextron liked this part in the persuasions; the point where he seized the morals and _broke them over their owners' heads._

"Good? Bad?" Mextron exclaimed. "Are you thinking 'Autobot vs. Decepticon' now?"

When Flickword nodded, he got more energetic.

"Would an Autobot let you fight back the same bullies who hurt you? No! They would say 'oh, let them to themselves, they'll learn'. Autobots are against fighting. But the Decepticons say 'show some spine and kick their aft'! And there's no such thing as good or bad fighting; it's a neutral concept of life and the only thing 'good' or 'bad' about is how well you fight. So next time you think 'Autobot vs. Decepticon', think, 'lie down and curl up into a ball while they kick me vs. kick _their_ aft'. Which do you want, Flick word?" Mextron leaped to his feet. "Are you going to stand up for yourself or lie down and take everyone's slag for your looks and speech?"

"I-I-I'll _fight_!" Flickword declared, leaping to his feet.

A smile of triumph crossed Mextron's face when he saw the red light bleed into Flickword's optics, turning them from deep blue to ruby red.

"I-I-I'm gonna fight n-n-n-next time s-s-s-s-someone wants-wants-wants to t-t-t-t-t-tease m-m-me! I-I-I'm gonna f-f-f-f-_fight!_"

"You do that, Flickword!" Mextron laughed, pointing to the newly roused up mech supportively as he hopped down from his cube and quickly left, his job complete. "You do that…" he added quietly.

"Mission complete," Mextron snickered, exiting the room.

"So, that's what you do to the new recruits?"

Mextron stopped short and spun around to see Megatron standing behind him, apparently having ease dropped by the door.

"How long were you listening?" Mextron asked, wariness for Megatron's unpredictable moods crossing his chest.

"Ever since you finished his sentence about his disabilities," Megatron replied. He peeked into the energon unit at Flickword cautiously.

"So, you somehow find out which recruits are the most uneasy about being here and convince them on their own to _want_ to be here?" Megatron summarized.

"Ferrofluid reports to me which recruits need my 'help' every time new ones come in," Mextron confirmed.

"Hmm…" Megatron hummed, staring at Flickword for a long time. Finally, he broke his gaze away from Flickword and walked over Mextron, heading down the hall.

"Keep it up," was all he said; his own version of 'good job'.

And Mextron released a breath he hadn't realized that he'd been holding.


	19. Sonics

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Chapter 19: Sonics**

The Efforts' new room had larger bunk beds, able to sleep two people to each bed (three, if a person curled up at the foot), a large space between either bunk bed wall with large dressers built into the underside of the beds with bonus dressers (yet unfilled) at the foot of each bunk bed. A table was against the wall where the kids could eat and Smartmouth and Effort 137 were currently playing chess. Across from them, on the opposite wall beside the door, was a wall-mounted plasma TV that showed 232 channels, with mute being an option. They even got the action and horror movie channels. Cartwheel was laying on her back on her lower bunk, surrounded by books and reading them. The room was nice and spacious.

"Now I move my pawn to take your queen…" Smartmouth said carefully, moving her black wooden piece across the chess board. She smirked across the table at the blank faced Effort 137. "And I win, no matter what, on my next turn," she said slyly.

Keeping his goggle-hidden eyes on Smartmouth, Effort 137 picked up one of his knights and moved it. A moment later, he removed his hand from the board with Smartmouth's Queen and King in hand. He calmly set it to the side and stared at Smartmouth's dropped jaw face.

"Checkmate," he stated.

"No way!" Smartmouth screeched, leaping to her feet. "There's _no way_ you just did that!"

"Too bad, he did it," Cartwheel called over from her back on herbed, reading a book Thundercracker had been nice (or tolerant) enough to get her on his last trip out. He had gotten the idea that she liked to read when, during one quiet hour, she had not shut up about books. She often talked peoples' audio receptors out; one of the pains for poor Shockwave while he was watching the base _and_ the powerless Efforts.

"Yeah, I know, but-but-but-!" Smartmouth stammered as Mextron entered the room.

"Shut up, you sound like the recruit I had to talk to today," Mextron grunted, flopping down on his bed. "Darn moth-looking mech had a speech problem."

"But come on!" Smartmouth wailed. "How could I loose to Effort 137?"

"Effort 137: Superior. Smartmouth: in superior," Effort 137 stated.

"Now don't you go speaking like Soundwave now," Smartmouth warned, waving her finger warningly at the younger boy.

"Also; your mind is read more obviously than a neon sign," Effort 137 added.

"Ha! You cheated!" Smartmouth declared, pointing a finger accusingly at Effort 137, the tip of it less than inch from his nose.

"You moved pawns three times while I looked away," Effort 137 stated, "Eye for eye; cheat for cheat."

"Ooh, you dirty little mind reading brat," Smartmouth hissed.

"Hey!" Mextron sapped. "What did I say about using that B-word on each other?"

"That it's too much like the Breaker Labs ass holes and not to use it," Smartmouth sighed, rolling her eyes.

"That's right; along with freak and monster," Mextron reminded. "Don't _ever_ use them on a fellow Effort, or so help me Primus, powers or no powers, I _will_ kill you with my bare hands!"

"Hmm, I'd _like_ to see how long you'd last without powers," Smartmouth said, narrowing her eyes at Mextron as twin darts of white light began to form around her shoulders.

"Shadow Leap!" Shadowleap whooped, appearing right above Smartmouth's head and crashing onto her shoulders.

Smartmouth found herself hitting the thinly carpeted floor, face-down, with Shadowleap on her back. Effort 137 calmly began to collect and put the chess game—looted from an elite guard's room—away while Cartwheel giggled at the display.

"Thank you, Shadowleap; you stopped a violent encounter before it began," Mextron said, lying back on his lower bunk.

Shadowleap stood up on top of Smartmouth's back and looked down, as if noticing her for the first time.

"Oh, hello, Smarts," he said politely.

_"Get off me!!"_ Smartmouth screamed, throwing Shadowleap off her back and into the wall as she shoved her upper body off the floor.

"Warning; voice levels reaching unnaturally high pitches," Effort 137 warned.

"Of course it's reaching unnaturally high pitches; I'm pissed off!" Smartmouth yelled, jumped to her feet and turning on Effort 137. "And I told you to _stop talking like that!!"_ she screamed in his face.

There was a brief whistle in the air at the last part and suddenly, Effort 137's round-cornered goggle lens cracked. Smartmouth gasped, rearing back in shock as the anger dissolved into shock and one of her hands flew to her mouth. Cartwheel tossed her book aside as she and Mextron both sat up and the sore Shadowleap also looked.

"Smartmouth! What did you do??" Cartwheel cried out.

"Effort 137, are you okay?" Mextron asked, jumping to his feet and moving to the fourteen year old quickly.

"Status; aching ears, but unharmed," Effort 137 stated, letting Mextron remove his goggles and examine him. "Somewhat muddle headed, though."

"Your pupils aren't changing to the light; that's not good," Mextron said, handing Smartmouth the rubber and plastic goggles and helping the dazed boy up. "Come on, we got to see if Ferrofluid can help you."

"137, I am _so_ sorry!" Smartmouth whined. "I didn't mean-I-I-I'm sorry!"

"Apologizing will do at a time when Effort 137 can _think_, Smartmouth," Mextron said to her, pausing at the door with one hand on the door knob and the other arm wrapped around the still-dazed Effort 137. "But until then, just stay calm and we'll talk about this later-"

Suddenly, the door opened without Mextron's push and on the other side was Rumble and Frenzy, both looking surprised, confused, and even somewhat scared. They looked at Mextron, then at Effort 137, before looking up at someone out of sight.

"He's here, Boss, what's up?" Rumble said.

"What are you doing here?" Mextron asked, coming out into the hall before spotting Soundwave standing just to his left, on the side Effort 137 was. He looked up at the visor and face mask –covered Decepticon and without the facial expressions, he couldn't tell what was going on with the Decepticon.

"Detected harm to Effort 137; demand examination immediately," Soundwave ordered, his voice somewhat deeper than usual.

_Is he upset?_ Mextron thought dumbly. _Holy cow, he's upset! Primus, this is serious…_


	20. Medical Emergency

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Chapter 20: Medical Emergency**

"Detected harm to Effort 137; demand examination immediately," Soundwave ordered, his voice somewhat deeper than usual.

"Here he is," Mextron said, gesturing to Effort 137. "Smartmouth kind of freaked out and accidentally did some sort of high sonic attack on him. It cracked his visor, and now his pupils won't adjust to light and he's in a sort of stun."

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that Smartmouth was pacing the Efforts' room quickly and nervously, turning Effort 137's ruined plastic goggles over and over in her hand. Shadowleap and Cartwheel sat on Mextron's bunk, sitting close and frequently exchanging looks and looking at Smartmouth worriedly. Smartmouth was showing the rare softer side of herself now as she fretted over her consequences to unintentionally harming another Effort.

Soundwave's massive blue hand came down, him bending over to reach, and his fingers snaked between Mextron and Effort 137, gently lifting the younger boy with grace belaying his size.

_Must come with handling smaller Decepticons,_ Mextron thought, watching as Soundwave cupped Effort 137 in his hands, scanning the boy as he lost consciousness.

"What happened?" Mextron whispered to Rumble and Frenzy, trying not to disturb Soundwave. "Why are you guys here?"

"It was weird," Frenzy whispered back. "We were in the Boss's chest compartment when he suddenly orders us two to eject and orders us to knock on your guys' door _now_. Wouldn't say why or anything, but he feels worried on the telepathy link. Smartmouth hit 137 with some sort of sonic attack?"

"Yeah, she was getting angry and shouted in his face about talking like Soundwave and her voice went crazy high for a moment. Then 137's visor cracked and he just zoned out."

"Diagnoses: Rupturing in the brain from sonic-based disturbances," Soundwave announced, finishing his scan of Effort 137. "Question to Mextron where he was going to take Effort 137."

"I was taking him to Ferrofluid," Mextron said. "He knows a lot about a lot, and medical things are with in his field."

"Then we shall go to Ferrofluid," Soundwave said, turning on his heels and taking off.

He didn't run, but he _did_ walk fast enough so that Mextron and the abandoned Cassetticons, Rumble and Frenzy, had to sprint after him to keep up. Glancing over at the Cassetticons, Mextron could see that they were just as confused about Soundwave's unusual behavior as Mextron was. Soundwave had always ignored Effort 137 unless his orders had him directly contact the Effort-- why was he suddenly so concerned now? And how did he even know that Effort 137 had been hurt?

A few minutes later, Soundwave passed through a large hole that had been opened up in the wall, going down a steep tunnel burnt through rock and coming to a room at the end where an elevator shaft was being constructed. A couple of the Decepticon recruits was lounging to the side while Shockwave and Ferrofluid stood by the enormous hole in the floor, arguing over whether electromagnets or geo-magnets would be best for powering the elevator. Solarflare was there, playing with Corona with some wires. Both stopped and looked up, how ever, when Soundwave entered. Solarflare looked up, then nudged her comrades.

"Hey, something up!" she whispered to them, making them look up at Soundwave.

"Soundwave," Shockwave said sternly. "What is the matter-"

"I have been told that you are educated in human repair procedures, Ferrofluid," Soundwave said to Ferrofluid, kneeling down and holding Effort 137 out to the Effort. "Smartmouth has injured Effort 137 with a sonic screech and a part of his brain has ruptured. Repair."

"Huh-what-wait-what?" Ferrofluid said, setting down the plastic measuring device he had been holding and placing a hand to his apparently spinning head. "Rupture in the brain?"

"Yes," Soundwave growled. "Repair."

"I may have self-educated myself on some medical knowledge with the internet access we have, but I'm not a _brain surgeon_. I can't do _brain surgery_!"

"Then you can not repair Effort 137?" Soundwave inquired.

"Well, actually, I have a theory-but it's just a theory-" Ferrofluid began to say.

"What is it?" Soundwave interrupted.

_Now_ the lounging Decepticon workers and Shockwave were interested. Shockwave's ear fins perked up in surprise. Soundwave was patient, calm, and collected. Now he was rushing in, disrupting other peoples' work, raising his voice, and interrupting other people. What was it about Effort 137 that was making him so unusual?

"Efforts are created when human DNA is mixed with a Transformer's repairing nanobots," Ferrofluid began. "Hence, a large part of an Effort is the repairing nanobots. If we can get nanobots identical to the ones running through his blood now, they may go to his brain and repair the damage. But it's rather iffy because it might result in brain damage and-"

Soundwave, now kneeling in front of Ferrofluid, set Effort 137 down on his back on the floor. He raised one hand, drawing his gun with the other.

"Woha, Soundwave, wait-!" Solarflare shouted as everyone jumped to stop him.

A small shriek of laser fire in the air and a small explosion stopped them. Corona yipped and jumped into Solarflare's arms in surprise. Laser light flashed on Soundwave's arm and when it disappeared, there was a small wound on his lower arm, already flowing with fresh energon.

"I-I-I-" Ferrofluid stammered, staring in shock at the self-inflicted wound. "I need a needle to inject the nanobots-"

"Ravage: Eject. Mission: Find adequate injection needle and bring back to Ferrofluid. Speed is of the essence," Soundwave ordered without a hint of pain in his voice.

Ravage leaped from his chest compartment, transforming to hit the floor running. A minute later, he was back, all out sprinting, with a large medical injection needle held delicately in his jaws. His metal paws skidded on the rocky floor and his optics were flickering wildly—how ever much Soundwave was upset right now, it was _defiantly_ having an effect on the Cassetticons. The robotic feline fell on its rump hard, opening its mouth so that the injection needle flew on through the air.

Ferrofluid caught the injector needle and removed the pusher tube. Picking up a smoking shard of Soundwave, Ferrofluid stood up and Soundwave held his injured arm out to him. Quickly and carefully, Ferrofluid scrapped some of the crusty substance already forming on the edges of the small wound into the injector tube. Once the tube was over half full, Ferrofluid dropped the metal shard and replaced the pusher tube. Sitting by the unconscious Effort 137, whose nose was beginning to bleed profoundly, Ferrofluid carefully turned the fourteen year old boy's head around to get to the neck and injected the nanobots directly into the all-important artery there.

The nanobots, surprisingly, slid smoothly into the neck and for a few long minutes, there was no reaction. Finally, Effort 137 stood.

"It's working!" Shockwave exclaimed after a bio-scan. "It appears that the rupture is fixing it up! So, nanobots from an Effort's Transformer can repair the Transformer?"

"Apparently," Ferrofluid agreed.

"Uh, excuse me, but…" Solarflare spoke up, drawing the attention of the four recruits awaiting their orders to continue building the elevator. "_What the slag are you talking about!?"_ she screamed.

Oh, yeah, none of the recruits knew exactly what or who the Efforts were; just some unusual teenagers with powers. This display obviously had them confused now.

"Ranks are not high enough to earn the privilege of knowing that," Soundwave stated, opening his chest and allowing the Cassetticons to jump in on a mental command. "Resume your duties."

Effort 137 stirred, groaning slightly as he sat up. Ferrofluid began to make sure that he was okay, but Mextron's temper flickered to life.

"Hey!" Mextron bellowed, running after Soundwave.

Outside in the hall, Soundwave stopped, turned to face Mextron, and looked at him; a silent inquiry as to what he wanted.

"What's your deal?" Mextron snarled. "Effort 137 gets hurt, you show up and have _your_ version of a _meltdown_ to help him, complete with screwing with your Cassetticons' minds telepathically so that Ravage could barely run straight and bursting right into other peoples' work and being impatient. Then, as soon as he's okay, you go back to ignoring him? What the hell, Soundwave?"

"Unable to give reason for unusual outbreak at this time-"Soundwave said.

"Yeah, I know, and you know why?" Mextron interrupted. "It's because-"

He paused, glancing over his shoulder down the short hall where the other Decepticons might be listening. The recruits were resuming work on the elevator, but were glancing over their shoulders out the door. Shockwave saw Mextron looking and, understanding, moved a screen in front of the tunnel opening to block sound of work going out of the small room. Later, Shockwave would wonder how he understood Mextron's look and why he obeyed it. Then he realized that those red an silver eyes behaved like Megatron's optics.

"It's because he's your _son_," Mextron told Soundwave, looking up at the communications officer.

"Negative-" Soundwave began.

"Enough!" Mextron barked. "The reason why you ignore Effort 137 right up to the point where he gets hurt and you wind up loosing control is because he's your son. You're ashamed to have a human-looking son, powers or not, _loyal_ or not, and try spacing yourself from him. But come the time he gets hurt, you _loose it_ because that's just the way a Transformer's Spark, or a human heart, or _any_ decent creature reacts for their off spring, wanted or not; they protect them. Do you even realize how _much_ that kid looks _up_ to you? Every time he stumbles, he thinks he's put himself right back in the negatives with you! All he wants is your approval—he's _proud_ to be your son. Do him and _yourself_ a favor and use that telepathic ability of yours to look into his head sometime. You'll be surprised at how much that kid likes you."

And with that, Mextron walked away, leaving Soundwave to stare after him and quietly wonder what the Pit was wrong with the Efforts, or organics in general.


	21. All We Have

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Author's Note: Be prepared to have a box of tissues on hand. Or a bucket to vomit in, depending on how you take these heart-felt, mushy-gushy parts. Basically this chapter fully comprehends how close the Efforts are to one another.**

**Chapter 21: All We Have**

A little while later, when Mextron and a temporarily-dismissed Ferrofluid helped Effort 137 back to the kids' room, Cartwheel, Shadowleap, and Smartmouth were waiting anxiously for them. Smartmouth looked close to tears and caught Effort 137 up in a hug as she broke down bawling. Mextron carefully shut the door behind him.

"Oh, Effort 137, I never meant it!" she bawled. "I would never seriously hurt a fellow Effort because-because-because we're all we have! Our parents don't truly love or know us, no one wants us, and we're all we have and oh god oh Primus oh Heaven I'm so sorry! I'll never hurt you, I'm so sorry!"

_Somewhat, dramatic, Smarts, _Mextron thought in amusement. _Take it easy on the waterworks; we don't want to drown 137._

Effort 137 blinked slowly, then carefully and somewhat awkwardly raised his arms and hugged Smartmouth back, closing his rarely exposed red eyes.

"Sir, are you going to do anything to Smartmouth for this?" Ferrofluid whispered to Mextron.

"Negative," Mextron replied, speaking aloud to hide no secrets. "The poor girl's guilt is ripping her up enough for the accident. You know that, in spite of all our fighting, that none of us would seriously harm or kill each other; when all is said and done, we are all we really have. We're not human or Transformer, but cursed to be on the borderline. No one will ever want us."

"Yeah, that's right," Cartwheel said sadly, joining the hug between Effort 137 and Smartmouth as they sat down on the floor. "I may only be nine years old-- not even a decade in this life—but already I've been exposed to some of life's worst aspects; lust, hate, unloved, orphaning, and murder. I've seen people die and old men make moves on young girls. I've been hit by my teachers. This life is cruel, and the only island of paradise and happiness in it is around the ones who you love and love you. For me, for _us_, that island is each other."

"I pull pranks and I joke all the time," Shadowleap said, sitting down close to Cartwheel, Effort 137, and Smartmouth. "I easily teleport Cassetticons around the bases that we raid and am close enough to them that when they kill, blood sometimes speckles my uniforms, and I keep smiling on the outside. But it's false smile. On the inside, all I want to do is curl up in a dark corner and wait until the sun comes out again. But I can't do that because the forces around me will attack and kill me for my weakness. But when I'm around you guys, I _can_ do it because we're friends. No, not friends—_family_. So what if our fathers were different and our mothers were random blobs of DNA and an incubator? We grew up together, we've lived together, we've worked together, and we're going to _die_ together. I'm safe around you guys and for that, I _can_ smile truthfully."

"In spite of my calm exterior," Ferrofluid said, kneeling down beside the group and placing a hand on Smartmouth's shoulder, "And all the calm calculations in my head, it's a false façade to disguise and leash my panic. Every time any one of us goes out to work with a raid or even simply to work _among _the Decepticons, all my calculations wind up turning back to you and measuring the probabilities as to how badly injured you will be or how likely it would be that you won't even come back. When the probabilities are unnaturally high, I find myself panting or freezing up in terror at the idea. I love you all like little brothers and sisters and if I had powers like Effort 137, or Shadowleap, or Smartmouth, I would use them to my advantage to watch over and protect you. I could never live if anything should happen to any of us."

_We're all linked by loneliness and necessity for safety,_ Mextron thought, looking down at the huddled, somewhat sad-looking, group. _We've never felt safe around the Breaker Lab humans because they hated us so much. We can't feel safe around the Decepticons because they hate organics. We feel safe and happy only around each other because we are all from the same caliber; unwanted hybrids who had never felt love. I_s_ it sad and pathetic that we crouch together now on the floor like huddled rabbits waiting for death?_

Part of him wanted to say yes. But he had an answer for himself already.

_No. No, it's not sad because…_

He stuck his hands into his uniform jacket's pockets as he leaned against the wall, one foot braced against it, and stared at the ceiling with a small smile on his lips.

"Hey," he said quietly, catching everyone's attention."Remember that day when I was eight? Cartwheel and Shadowleap were still in incubators and it was before Effort 137 started wearing the futuristic spy costume and," he chuckled, "Smartmouth had the most _adorable_ Orphan Anne curls."

"Shut up," Smartmouth squeaked weakly with a hic up, her arms still around Effort 137.

"We remember," Ferrofluid said quietly.

"Well, remember how we went to the incubator room and saw Cartwheel and Shadowleap? Then the scientists thought about terminating them because that had grown too healthy too fast and they thought it would result in another mutant. You guys all rallied around me when I objected and we managed to scare the scientists down from the motion. I was just wondering… why did you choose to agree with me that day? And why have you listened to me ever sense?"

"You know why, Mex," Shadowleap said with a small smile.

And he did, too.

"It's because I have leadership?" Mextron asked, hesitant to go on, least he sound selfish or self-centered.

"Go on," Cartwheel implored.

"Because…" Mextron said slowly, gathering his thoughts. "It's because I just _am_ a leader. It has little to do with how my dad led your dads. It's just because I've always had something about me that made you follow me."

"Because you always knew the right decisions to make instead of jumping head on into them," Smartmouth said with a nod.

Mextron waited a moment, trying to word the feelings with in him.

"I've always liked being your leader, through dumb decisions and disasters alike, because I love taking care of you," he finally admitted. "Because I knew that if I took care of you, you'd take care of me and I'd always had friends to fall back on. Even when the guards called me worthless, I'd be around you and would _know_ that they were wrong. You gave me purpose."

He came forward and knelt on both knees, wrapping his arms around the group.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Now it was Effort 137's turn.

His telepathic mind reached out, still soft from the recent recovery, and enwrapped his friends in it. The Efforts felt as if they had been encased in a soft fog of rabbit fuzz and goose down and had never felt more happy or soft.

_I may seem cold and in control outside,_ Effort 137 whispered into their ears through the telepathy, his telepathic voice as soft as a dove's wing brush upon a breeze. _But inside, I always feel broken and imperfect, being so different from all else. I have power, but I've never been able to properly use it other than to break our fathers out. After the releasing, I felt even more broken and useless when my father never acknowledged me. Am I good enough? Was my being part human or even simply __existing__ compromising my chance of ever having a true father, a man—or mech—to look up to and learn from? Every mistake, both minor and major—_ there was a flash back to the earlier raid when Effort 137 had bade Megatron to listen to the human's proposition only to have Megatron shoot the human anyway. Effort 137's worry was asking if he was really that stupid, thinking a human could ever have anything for Lord Megatron. It made Effort 137 feel like and idiot and he thought that Soundwave probably saw him as an idiot, too. It revealed that Effort 137, like any typical teenager that was distant from the parent they loves, had confidence issues when it came to personal matters.

_Every mistake, both minor and major,_ Effort 137 went on, his telepathic voice cracking, _Made me feel like I had walked one step forward, only to go back six steps. I hate myself for not being able to impress the one person in this universe I want to impress. But I'm all wrong, aren't I? I shouldn't waste my time with him because-because-_

Effort 137's telepathic voice broke as his feeling of rushing relief, grief of rejection, and accepting love all became a storm around the children, binding them closer in mind. Tears were streaming from Effort 137's red eyes as he opened his arms and squeezed all of them as close as he could.

"I've been wasting my time on that dumb robot because the only people I need to care about are right here!" he finally burst out in a loud wail.

That did it; they all started crying.

"Wow," Shadowleap sobbed, rubbing his nose a few minutes later. "We're just a bunch of big babies, now, aren't we?"

"Yeah," Cartwheel sniffled. "But crying feels good."

"Yes," Mextron laughed, tears streaming from his eyes as he leaned heavily against Smartmouth. "Crying _does_ feel good."

Smartmouth sniffed hard, whipping her nose on her uniform sleeve. Suddenly, she shoved Mextron away from her, adding a smack upside the head for good measure. The she punched Shadowleap lightly on the shoulder, knocking him on his back.

"Get off of me, you pompous ass hole," she sniffled.

"Jerk!" Shadowleap yelled, tackling her onto Mextron.

"Hey, get off of me!" Mextron laughed, shoving up on them.

"Dog pile!" Cartwheel yelled, jumping up onto Ferrofluid.

Soon they were all a pile of limbs and laughter with all sorrow forgotten. They had each other. No matter what faction they were in, where they were, or what they were doing, they had each other and always would.


	22. Our Sparklings

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Chapter 22: Our Sparklings**

Thundercracker, Skywarp, Starscream, Soundwave, and Megatron were gathered in the main map room on Shockwave's private imploration, declaring that he had unearthed something of importance from the labs' data bases on the Efforts. Now an outline of a human body was being projected on one large, barren wall. It showed the human lungs and heart, but a peculiar organ was right beside the heart. It was slightly larger than its comrade.

"Alright, Shockwave, this better be good to be waking us up from recharge for this," Thundercracker said with a yawn. "We've been raiding for three days straight and we need our rest."

"I agree, Shockwave," Megatron growled, rubbing his optics. "If this isn't good, you're going to have a _big_ complication with your transforming sequence for the next _decade."_

"Just listen to this!" Shockwave implored. "According to the autopsy reports of the Breaker Labs from failed Effort bodies and experiments and exams on the living Efforts now, this organ right here…" Shockwave used a long, thin rod as a pointer to point at the organ beside the heart, "Is an _organic Spark chamber!_"

He looked at the blank-faced Decepticons.

"They have Sparks!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, woha, hey, wait!" Skywarp said, finally catching on. "Where'd they get _Sparks_? And _how_?"

In Megatron's optics, he had a brief flash back to the first day he woke up in the Breaker Labs containment laboratory. He remembered the viciously metal-barbed cables that had held him and his mechs immobile and unconscious for so long.

"Those barbed cables that held us in place when we slept," Megatron said. "The annoying humans must have stolen some of our Sparks with a form of electrical pull with those cables!"

"We were _raped!?_" Thundercracker cried out.

_"Eww,"_ Skywarp wined, shifting on his metal booted feet nervously.

"No, you idiot," Megatron snarled. "They mimicked our Sparks signals and-"

"Actually," Shockwave said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "They kind of _did_, but every time an Effort died, our bit of Sparks would go right back to our bodies."

"What did the failed Efforts look like?" Skywarp asked curiously.

"Awful," Shockwave said with a shutter. "Just awful…"

"Shockwave," Megatron said slowly. "What is so important about the Efforts having Spark Chambers?"

"H-huh? What?" Shockwave said dumbly, his ear fins perking in confusion. "Well, uh, I just thought…" His voice faded out and he looked at the floor. Heaving a great big sigh of exasperation, his optic dimmed as he rubbed the spot above his optic.

"I just made a fool of myself, didn't I?" he said.

"Yes," the other Decepticons agreed.

"Slag it!" Shockwave snarled. He turned and flung his metal pole pointer into the corner with a small crash, expressing uncharacteristic rage. He turned back to his fellow Decepticons. "What is it about these _brats_ that makes us loose control!?" he demanded. "I was just looking at the data files and got rallied up for some stupid _organ_ for no apparent reason!"

"Loose control…?" Thundercracker began to ask.

"Today, Soundwave's Effort was seriously injured due to an accidental attack on Smartmouth's behalf," Shockwave said, pointing accusingly at Soundwave. "And _he_ came _running_ to _my_ Effort demanding that he fix it. He was visibly upset to the point where his telepathic connection had Ravage _stumbling_ around fetching my Effort a hypodermic needle to aid in repairing Soundwave's Effort. And you know what _my_ thoughts were upon seeing Ravage approach _my_ Effort?"

"What, Shockwave?" Megatron asked tiredly.

_"Don't crash into Ferrofluid and bite him!!"_ Shockwave yelled. "Sense when did I ever care about an organic!? Something about these humans makes us _different_! Thundercracker, you could barely _stand_ having Mextron and Shadowleap with in you that first scouting mission-"

"Only because of how the humans took me out in the Final Battle," Thundercracker said with a noticeable shutter of horror at the war memories that had made him both hate and fear the humans even more sense.

"Yes, but when Cartwheel, your Effort, wants to nap in you, you let her!" Shockwave exclaimed. "And don't look surprised—I saw you in your alt form in recharge with her curled up in your seat on more than one occasion. You let _your organic_ sleep in you when _all others_ make you want to _shoot them on sight._ Skywarp!"

"Yeah?" Skywarp asked, jumping to attention.

"You hate organics. You love picking them up an ejecting them a thousand feet up just to see them _explode_. And yet, you treat your Effort, Shadowleap, like he's one of your military training pals. Starscream-"

"I'm not affected by my Effort!" Starscream objected too quickly.

"Oh? I've seen you talking together," Shockwave said suavely. "And you _listen_ to her. In spite of your hatred to all things organic and, Pit, all _things_ in general, you _listen_ to her. That alone is something of an amazing miracle to note. And Megatron-"

"I am _not_ affected by my Effort," Megatron said with a disdainful snort of his air cooling systems.

"_You let organics into our army,_" Shockwave said with force, lowering his head slightly to peer up at Megatron in seriousness. "The only organics you ever did _that_ was with that one scientist-Dr. Arch-Evil, pronounced oddly? And even _then_, we just turned him into a cyborg soon after. That _boy_ somehow managed to talk you into letting the very creatures you _despise_ into _your_ army.

"Can't you see, brothers in arms?" Shockwave said, raising his hands helplessly. "These humans-- these fleshling Transformers—these _Efforts_, are _our_ Sparklings. Whether we like it or not, whether it shames us or not, that is that. We can't bear ourselves to kill them because they have _our_ Sparks with in them. For Soundwave, it's like having another Cassetticon, but of flesh. For the rest of us—we have our own Sparklings. Flesh-and-blood Sparklings, _unwanted_ Sparklings, _freakish_ Sparklings, but _our_ Sparklings none the less."

There was a long, heavy silence as the Decepticons finally turned and faced the information that had been floating them all this time. What were they to make of this?

"So…what is the importance of us having organic Sparklings?" Megatron finally yawned.

Shockwave's single optic went from gold to red-orange as it seemed to narrow in disgust at Megatron. Megatron was denying the personal importance of this and Shockwave knew it. And if one knew Shockwave, he _hated_ having the proper information twisted or ignored.

"You _disgust_ me sometimes, you know that?" Shockwave hissed to him, pushing past the Decepticons and leaving the room.

Megatron looked to the floor to the ceiling, taking a deep, tired, impatient breath of fresh air into his coolant systems.

"Dismissed," he sighed to the other Decepticons, turning on his heels and leaving the room.


	23. Connections

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Chapter 23: Connections**

Shockwave, about half an hour after the failed meeting, found himself working on the elevator shaft, carefully placing miniscule electronic parts together to begin powering up the magnetic elevator. All the other mechs had gone off to bed by now at this late hour. Looking at the tools in his hands as he knelt on the ground, he dropped his hands and looked away with a large sigh. What was he thinking, going off like that on everyone about the Sparkling Efforts? Well… he never _did_ like having incorrect or false information. Somehow, it figured in his CPU that the failure to directly acknowledge the Sparklings was incorrect to him.

A few minutes later, he stopped again and rubbed his aching head as he stared at the tools. Elevators had never been his specialty.

_Maybe I can get Ferrofluid and he can do this. He's go at these little parts-_ he found himself thinking.

Taking his optic off line in his own version of closing his "eyes", Shockwave shook his head. He would have been smiling if he had a mouth. Over a hundred years ago, he would have been _experimenting_ with these organics instead of considering the one directly connected to him coming in to help him make a machine. Wow, life and Primus had a funny way of turning the tables with irony, didn't they?

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Thundercracker came to his room and soon went to his charger booth. It may have been made from Earthling materials and had just recently reached a decent Transformer grade, but it served his purpose. He pondered over Shockwave's words earlier. Was he right? Was Cartwheel really _that_ special about him? Was it true that Cartwheel was the only organic that he would ever trust near him? True, long before the Final Battle, he had despised the tiny, weak humans, as well as other organic races, with a passion. But then at the Final Battle…

He shuttered as memories leaped from their carefully concealed hiding places with in the dark corners of his mouth, tackling him and dragging him into a hideous war flash back.

_Decepticon, Autobot, and human air craft filled the sky over the Nevada desert. He could hear Autobots over the hacked line yelling at the humans._

_"What are you doing?" one of the Autobots, he could remember, had yelled. "You'll get killed in this, leave!"_

_"You'll get killed, too!" one of the humans had laughed in response. "So let's die together!"_

_"Ooh, look!" Skywarp had snickered, chasing an American army jet. "Target practice!"_

_"You can say that again, Skywarp!" Thundercracker cackled, shooting out an Autobot before transforming into his jet form and chasing a jet sporting French colors. "Hey, French boy, let's see if you can try your own style on your aft as you kiss it good bye!" he had laughed, shooting at the terrified French pilot._

_The French were reputed cowards, from what he had known of Earthling culture. How was he to know that the pilot he was chasing had a friend in that battle, or that Earthling culture was false? Another French jet, a friend of the first, had come in from the front, smoking heavily from damages, but the pilot had shot at Thundercracker's cock pilot glass covering, shattering it as the smoking jet passed by over head. The French pilot of the damaged jet had ejected and, completely on accident and luck, had fallen into Thundercracker's cock pit when he had come back around, still chasing the original French jet._

_"Hey, get out of there!" Thundercracker said, trying to pull out a barrel roll to throw the air mask-wearing soldier out._

_But he had gotten as far as the "get" before the adrenalin-pumped fleshling had reared his heavy boots back and smashed them into Thundercracker's control panel, shattering glass screens and breaking plastic. __That__ had made Thundercracker break from his chase, plunging towards the Earth as he screamed in pain with the damage so close to his Spark chamber. But the soldier was not done yet. The human had shouted something in their own language as they had pulled a gun from their boot and shot his interior._

_And the soldier shot._

_And he shot._

_And he shot._

_And he shot._

Thundercracker awoke from recharge with a jerk, wings shuddering in terror at the nightmare with the gun shots still echoing in his audio receptors. How had he tricked himself into going back into that horror show? Oh, yes, pondering over how Shockwave had said that he only let the organic Cartwheel near him. Odd, did he _truly_ get that same sense of peace and fulfillment with the little girl sleeping in his cock pit that was rivaled only by the terror of having any other fleshling in him?

He thought about the little girl and her tiny white smile as her big blue eyes beamed up at him. He remembered how her hair spun around behind her as she danced to what ever tune struck her fancy inside her little head. He remembered waking up one morning after a nap to find her nestled on his chest like some little kitten and how cute she was. He remembered how she had a funny way of non-stop talking until he gave in to picking her up for a ride or something of the sort. He hated the organic, and yet, he just couldn't shoot her.

Yeah, whether he liked it or not, he loved Cartwheel.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Skywarp did not have nearly such a dramatic connection. He sat on top of the single large white building marking the top of the headquarters standing like a white tombstone amongst the Sarah Desert dunes, staring into the starry night sky as he thought of the pranks he and Shadowleap had been pulling lately. Over there was where they had buried one of the recruits neck-deep in sand when they had fallen into recharge at their guard post. Here was where they had found Starscream enjoying the sun and, using some markers pinched from a raid, they had drawn goofy designs on him while he napped. And there was... well, let's just say that a certain turbofox-carrying Seeker was still looking to murder them.

He thought of all the other pranks, from making a Decepticon jump up and freak when they saw Shadowleap on their shoulder, to mixing the medic-bots' tools up, and smiled.

"Huh, guess you're right, Shockwave…" he muttered, smiling up at the starry sky as he linked his fingers behind his head. "I _do_ like that kid."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Starscream had promptly gone to bed after the meeting and fell into recharge soon after, having the same reaction as Megatron and not giving a slag about any of it. He was soon having pleasant memories of sitting on a throne, crown on his head, with all the Decepticons kneeling before him. He was king! He had done it! He was king! All, what power! What glory! He ruled all as the mighty Scary Starscream! Wait-"Scary" Starscream? That sounded like a child's attempt at a fearful title! Ah, whatever, it was a dream that he was going to make reality' he could fix the title later.

Then Smartmouth appeared, knocking the crown from his head even though now it was hovering in the air in front of him.

_"What are you doing here?"_ Starscream snapped. _"This is my dream, get out!"_

_"Oh you stupid, stupid can opener,"_ Smartmouth sneered. Her voice lost its meaning, but her words' meaning got through into something Starscream _could_ translate. The dream dissolved around him, making his empire and all his kneeling attendants mere ghosts to him as he became human sized and stood beside Smartmouth as he listened to her.

_"You got to stop thinking about your empire and actually start __working__ for it!"_ Smartmouth was saying. _"Your second-in-command position means __nothing__ when everyone undermines your authority. And you know why that is?"_ Starscream knew because he had had this exact same conversation with Smartmouth just a couple days before when they had found each other guarding one of the energon storage units—those units were getting full.

_"Because you're a spoiled, power-hungry brat,"_ Smartmouth went on using every word she had in the real life conversation. _"You assume that your position is the present box in which everything you've ever wanted comes in, when it's __not__. The position is just the wood to make the house. You need the responsibility, the love of your men, the __respect__ of your men, the smarts, and the __head__ to rule them. You don't have to be brave—just enough to keep from running every time a gun points your way. Win your men's respect. Win their hearts, win their __Sparks__. If you do this, Screamer, you __will__ obtain the power you've always desired."_

Starscream's optics came alive, making him stare into his dark room. After a long moment, he spoke to the darkness.

"Slag, Shockwave's right. And so is the femme…. Double slag."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Soundwave stood outside of the Efforts' room, debating whether or not he should wake one of his sleeping Cassetticons up to knock on the door and see how Effort 137 was doing. Shockwave was right about Soundwave acting strangely for Effort 137—that was for sure. What it specifically meant, Soundwave had not figured out yet.

Scanning through the walls, Soundwave saw, somewhat to his confusion, the Efforts curled up in a huddle in each others' arms on the floor in deep recharge mode. Their hormone levels suggested that they had gone through an extreme hormone change.

"…_he's proud to be your son. Do him and yourself a favor and use that telepathic ability of yours to look into his head sometime. You'll be surprised at how much that kid likes you."_

Deciding to take Mextron's advice, Soundwave knelt on the hall floor, looking around to make sure that there was no one coming, then oh-so-carefully opened the door to the Efforts' room. Reaching two fingers through the door, he stretched his mind-reading probes out and carefully touched the wires to the sleeping Effort 137's head.

Soundwave was instantly hit with a tidal wave of memories and emotions when he just _tapped_ on the boys' memories and feeling towards him. He slipped and found himself falling into the memories and feelings, unable to suppress them or stop them as they surrounded, encased, and filled him, making him see the truth.

Ever sense the boy had learned that his father was Soundwave the ever famous telepathic communications officer, the boy had desired to be just like his father; in control, respected, powerful, and strong. He had practiced his telepathic and technopath abilities long and hard to prepare for the day to show them off to his father. He had studied all he could on Soundwave. And when that boy first saw Soundwave move for the first time on the day of the take over—how that boy's heart had soared!

But it had sunk, too. Pit, it had Effort 137's heart been _shot_ down because of Soundwave. When Soundwave had failed to name Effort 137, the boy's confidence had shattered. Was he not good enough for his father? What had he missed? What bar had he failed to jump over? Hence, the boy was always trying to work as hard as he could to impress his father. Effort 137 never suspected his father to come right and say "good job", but to actually _look at him_, to _acknowledge_ his _existence_ would have been enough to put a spring in the Effort's step. But Soundwave had never acknowledged the boy; he had always looked behind and broken the boy's heart. Slag, to Soundwave, it didn't make a _difference_ what the hybrid was named; as long as the boy could work, Soundwave had never seen a point in renaming him.

Hence, when Effort 137 had had his near brush with death, it had not been something that had been looked upon negatively. What was the point of living if his one wish—for his father to _look_ at him—would never be fulfilled? The children he slept among now loved him more than that robot ever would and –

Soundwave didn't exactly break down into tears, but he felt his stead-fast, cold pillar of strength shiver in dismay. This was his own Sparkling. The same habit of lack of expression, the same suppression of emotions, the same simple procedure for perfection—the child was just like him! And yet, he had ripped the boy's heart open. Oh, Primus, he had been cruel to people in the past, whether it was shooting Sparklings in front of their parents or executing lovers in front of one another, but that was nothing compared to shunning his own Sparkling. Even a _Decepticon_ had to acknowledge their Sparklings _sometime_.

_Illogical; shunning of own Sparkling that can be of excellent use. Logical; make up for this in some way,_ Soundwave noted mentally before slowly drawing back his mind probes.

With in his dreams. Effort 137 heard the words… and felt peace.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Later still that night, long after Soundwave had left, Megatron stood, hands clasped behind his back outside the Efforts' bed room and staring through the walls at the kids. He, too, saw the signs of a hormonal battle. But the only child he paid attention to was Mextron.

Was this true? Was it because of their shared Sparks that Megatron had allowed Mextron to convince him to allow organics to join the Decepticon Army, against all his hates and all his conducts? Against his very _code_? _This_ little brat who lay among his peers like the curs sleeping in an abandoned apartment room, cuddled together for warmth? This _mutt_, this _leader_ and _nurse_ of mutts was _his_ Sparkling, the one who had made him break a streak of anti-organics alliances that spanned over the millennia?

Impossible.

Finally, Megatron turned away from the room, a sneer of complete and utter disgust filling his face as he glanced out of the corner of his optics back through the walls at sleeping Mextron.

"You make me _sick,_" he snarled.

Then he marched away.

But a little voice taunted him in his head, hissing, _"Oh? But is it the __boy__ who makes you sick, Megatron… or yourself?"_


	24. Father and Son

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Ch 24: Father and Son**

The next day, Effort 137 awoke early amongst the tangled limbs of his snoring comrades. Smartmouth had her arms wrapped around Mextron's neck, Shadowleap had _his_ arms wrapped around _her_ waist, and Cartwheel slept with her head on Shadowleap's side. Ferrofluid had his head in Effort 137's lap and his legs drooping over Mextron's. Carefully moving the older boy's head off of him, Effort 137 got to his feet, shrugging his sore shoulders as he left the room. He decided to start the day early, rubbing his red eyes as he exited the room. Boy, without his goggles, his eyes _hurt_ from the unfilteredbright light…

It was early in the morning and no one else, save for patrol men on the outskirts of the base, were awake. Effort 137 stretched his arms over his head as he cam around a corner… and came face-to-ankle with Soundwave. Soundwave had something in his hands. A metal plate had been welded over his arm wound as a sort of bandage, but was already beginning to fade into his armor as repairing systems took care of it. The two stared up and down at each other, mildly surprised to see each other. Effort 137 finally looked away and made an effort to walk past Soundwave. He knew the mech wouldn't want to talk to him.

But, much to his surprise, Soundwave knelt and reached a hand to stop him.

"Wait," was all he said.

They were like that for several minutes; Soundwave kneeling with an object hidden in one hand while the other prevented Effort 137 from moving on, and Effort 137 staring up at him, patiently waiting and wondering what was going on. Finally, Soundwave, not having it with in himself toexpress his emotions, handed Effort 137 what ever was hidden in his other hand.

"Effort 137 renamed to Skynet," Soundwave stated. "After the fictional computer program with enough power to change the world… for _you_ have that power, Skynet."

The object Soundwave gave ex-Effort 137, now-Skynet was a visor. It wasn't a round-cornered lens plastic toy with rubber straps like the original goggles, but that of real red glass with the thinnest and inconspicuous of rubber padding over the nose bridge and along the lower edges. Skynet turned it over in his hands, looking over it in awe, before placing it to his face. The visor fit perfectly, gently hugging his face without suffocating straps or pinching ear hooks. The ache in his eyes faded rapidly once the visor's filtering turned the world red.

Skynet looked up at Soundwave. Abruptly, the mask and visor slid aside in a blink of an eye. An extremely hansom, white-faced Transformer looked down at Skynet with a grin and sparkling pale red optics. The young age of the face was something remarkable to behold in itself; he must have been in his early twenties if his appearance matched human years. The optics winked and the grin grew before the mask and visor replaced and the emotionless exterior was once again resumed. The entire face glimpse had been in less than three seconds.

"Requesting assistance in reprogramming the base's repair drones' programs to include battle mode," Soundwave said.

Skynet nodded and, together, they made their way to the computer rooms.

**AN: Quick chapter, I know. I'll make it up to you with a double post! ^_^**


	25. Vision

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Chapter 25: Vision**

A few days later, Ferrofluid was working with Shockwave on a compute council. Suddenly, his pupils dilated with an enormous difference; his right dilated normally while the left pupil suddenly sprouted to fill the entire eye. Then he simply closed his eyes and collapsed.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"Bio-scans suggest that his vision mental areas are rapidly changing," the medic-bot said. "And that his mind has put him into stasis until the work is done. No telling when he'll wake up… _if_ he'll wake up."

"Oh, Ferrofluid!" Cartwheel whined.

"Come on, Cartwheel," Mextron said, placing an arm around her shoulders. "We got work to do and Ferrofluid isn't waking up any time soon.

It was an hour after Ferrofluid's collapse and now the Effort was in a bed taken from one of the barrack rooms not yet converted to something more useful and lay there, unconscious, with Shockwave and the other Efforts gathered around him in the med bay. Shockwave was lucky that he didn't have a face, or he would be unable to hide the grimace of sheer worry and fear for his organic Sparkling.

"Aw, do we have to, Mex?" Shadowleap whined.

"Yes," Mextron said sadly, watching as Smartmouth betrayed herself to reveal mothering side as she adjusted the pillows and blankets to cover the unconscious Ferrofluid more. "We can't hold everything for one complication. But I'm sure the good doctor here will inform us if there's been any change, right doctor?"

Mextron fixed his red and silver eyes on the medic and the medic was suddenly positive that if he answered anything wrongly, his Spark would be powering half the base for the next eon. Quite terrifying, actually.

"Yes, sir," the medic-bot replied with full truthfulness, in spite of automatically being the superior of an organic. Something about that kid made him terrified and respectful of him at the same time.

"I'll be listening," Skynet warned, prodding the medic telepathically to show him what he meant.

"Good. Come on, guys, we got work to do," Mextron said, reluctantly pulling his comrades away from Ferrofluid.

Cartwheel jumped up and gave Ferrofluid a peck on the cheek before she followed her friends.

Shockwave stared as the shifting mind in Ferrofluid began to slowly settle down then finally made himself turn away and leave. He couldn't betray exactly how much he was worried for his Effort for the sake of reputation, but rest assured that he _would_ act if anything would happen to make Ferrofluid's strabfe condition worsen.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Hours later, Ferrofluid slowly opened his eyes. His left eye was still pure pitch black, but his right eye's gold iris was larger now with a thick black line around it, showing little white and creating quite a creepy affect. As he stared into the darkness of the recharging base, his right eye saw the base as he usually saw it as a regular human. But the left eye cast everything in a strange, eerie sort of vision, like the negatives of a camera film. A hyper cruiser appeared, measuring and examining objects and their properties. He could see their geometric shapes, chemical compounds and physical properties appear like a glowing white hologram on screen, scrolling around their items and informing him of all that he saw without issue.

"What the...?" he muttered, rubbing his eyes and looking again.

He still saw the world in its two layers, regular and camera-negatives, but when he focused on something far away, his vision seemed to zone in on it, expanding it until he could see all the details of the object he peered at. Curious, he focused on a Transformer tool box in the corner; a large wrench, to be specific. He stared at the head of the wrench. After a moment, the negatives side of his vision shuddered and zoomed in on the wrench head, making the C-shapped grip fill his vison. His hyper cruiser pointed and tapped at the head and Ferrofluid learned that it was an inch thick and four inches from one end to the other, made of an alloy of iron and steel and slightly electrically charged.

Ferrofluid blinked and reared his head back, making his vison with draw back into a normal distance of seeing. Was this a result of his Energon diet? It was logical to believe so; he had not started having eye issues until he began his diet of Energon, and it would make sense for his powers to develope more slowly, as he was an adult by legal standards.

He smiled.

He had powers.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"Are you _sure_ that you don't want to wear an eye patch?" Shadowleap asked. "Or at least a visor or shades like Skynet, because seriously; that's freaking me out."

"What's freaking you out?" Ferrofluid asked, making his gold and black eye shake uncontrollably.

"Fluid!" Smartmouth yelped. "If you do that freaky voodoo eye thing again, I'm going to knock it out of your skull!"

"What 'freaky voodoo eye thing', Smartmouth?" Ferrofluid asked, turning his creepy eyes on Smartmouth and shaking his eyes again with a huge grin plastered across his face.

Smartmouth screeched in terror at the trick and made to smack Ferrofluid, but he dodged her easily, laughing.

"Okay, dude, that _is_ creepy," Skywarp informed. "Even by _my_ tastes."

The Efforts were in the Garage, hanging out and reading the latest books Thundercracker had stolen from the latest raid. Ferrofluid had been discharged from the medical bay once it was determined that he wasn't developing a brain tumor or anything of the sort. But even Shockwave found his black and yellow eye creepy, and Corona the turbofox had ran around him, yipping madly, until Solarflare had called it back.

"I'll stop only if Thundercracker promises to keep getting books," Ferrofluid said, grinning at the indigo and black Seeker.

Thundercracker stared back at him, determined to win the fight, but Ferrofluid shook his black and gold eye again, focusing quickly on a distant object, and the Seeker flung his hands up in exasperation.

"Fine!" he yelled. "I'll be your slagging _book mobile_ just for Primus' sake, _wear some glasses!_"

"Ah, I _love_ to win," Ferrofluid chuckled, turning back to his book on fossils.

"Yeah, don't we all?" Mextron chuckled in agreement.


	26. Fight Back

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.**

**Chapter 26: Fight Back**

The Cafeteria of Breaker Labs, having been the largest room in the entire complex, had become the wreck room and diner for the Decepticons. This fact was obvious now as Decepticons and the Efforts alike gathered that morning to drink their share of energon. No tables had been constructed just yet for the mechs, so most sat on the floor or stood around drinking their energon. They had just gotten off of rationing the energon as they had finally gathered enough energon to be in bounty of it, but they were still a long way from filling the thirty energon storage units. Today was going to be a raid-less day, the first all week, where everyone would be set to some task or another to help expanding the base further down and around the land. Rumor had it that one of the echolocation-specialized mechs had detected an _enormous_ cavern below them and Megatron was going to have several diggers work to make an elevator shaft down to this cavern where they could begin construction of a space craft. Rumor also had it that Megatron already knew what to name this potential spacecraft: _Reborn Nemesis._

Now the Efforts sat to one side in their own exclusive, mysterious, respected club, sipping energon from laboratory beakers and vials and talking amongst themselves. Mextron and Smartmouth, as usual, soon came into an argument, but that was to be expected.

Flickword, the stutter-tongued, moth-looking Transformer, was standing on his lonesome to the side, across from the Efforts, and sipping his energon, keeping his optics locked on the floor and his antennae drooping to prevent detection from others. But his meek quietness did not allow him that pleasure.

"Hey, Flickword!" a Decepticon barked, coming up to Flickword with two others following him. "Nice work with the energon processing, buddy. Everything tastes nice and sweet."

"R-R-R-r-r-really?" Flickword asked, his antennae perking hopefully. "T-t-t-t-t-thank-"

"Oh shut up, stutter bug," the mech snorted. "Can't even say a single word decently. Can you even _think_ without stuttering?"

"Y-y-y-y-y-yes, I-I c-c-c-c-can-"Flickword began to reply, somewhat insulted.

"Hey, boss, why's the dork have funny bristles and wings like that?" one of the other mechs asked in a rude tone.

"T-t-t-t-they're a-apart-"Flickword started.

"Because he's a _freak_, _that's_ why!" the lead mech boomed, suddenly back-handing Flickword's energon cube from his hands.

Flickword turned is head, watching the cube flip in the air as purple energon streamed out of it. Thus distracted, he was unable to block the blow to the abdomen the other mech dealt him, bending him double with a hiss of air pressure systems releasing air. Transformers turned to watch the fight. Some drew closer to cheer it on. Mextron and Smartmouth fell silent to watch the scene.

"Hey, Mex," Shadowleap whispered to Mextron. "Isn't that one of the guys you talked to?"

"Yeah, so?" Mextron asked, watching as Flickword tried to get to his feet, only to get kicked in the side and knocking him to the floor.

"Shouldn't you do something?" Cartwheel asked.

"No," Mextron replied. "It's time that Flickword learned to stand on his own feet."

Flickword looked up sadly with baleful optics filled with pleads for help at Mextron. Mextron's red and silver eyes stared coldly back at him, telling him that he was on his own—he had to fix his own troubles this time. Flickword tried getting up again, but got kicked even harder as the jeers from his bullies continued.

"Look at you! Slagging _fairy_ wings like some _dork_!" his bully snarled. "Why Lord Megatron let's you live beyond _energon processing_ is beyond me! You can't even talk right, you idiot!"

Flickword's optics zoned out as he remembered what Mextron had told him. No one was going to save him except himself.

"_Decepticons say 'show some spine and kick their aft'!_"

"_Next time you think 'Autobot vs. Decepticon', think, 'lie down and curl up into a ball while they kick me vs. kick their aft'. Which do you want, Flickword? Are you going to stand up for yourself or lie down and take everyone's slag for your looks and speech?"_

"S-stop," Flickword whispered.

"What was that twitter tongue? What was that?" the bully snarled, kicking Flickword with each sentence. "What did you stutter out, ugly? Huh? What did you say? _What did you say?"_

"_ENOUGH!!"_ Flickword bellowed.

He exploded from the floor in a burst of pale purple and yellow metal, jumping onto his attacker and slamming him onto the floor. Everyone jumped and shouted in surprise as Flickword clenched a fist and began bashing it into his bully's face, over and over and over and over again. Megatron, Shockwave, and Starscream, discussing battle tacts as they came to the cafeteria, fell silent and broke into a run to see what was going on. They stopped short in surprise when they saw Flickword beating the slag out of the bully.

"S-Stop p-picking on m-me!" he was yelling. "S-stop k-k-k-kicking me, s-s-stop hurting-hurting m-me! If-if you e-e-ever d-d-do it again I'll-I'll-I'll k-kill you! Y-You hear me??"

"Someone get him off of that mech!" Megatron bellowed.

Two Decepticons brave enough to listen hauled Flickword off of the bully. He continued kicking and struggling as he screamed at the top of his audio receptors.

"_The n-next person who-who makes f-fun of me, I'll-I'll kill them! You h-hear me? I'LL KILL THEM!!!"_

"Take him to one of the solitary confinement cells until he calms down," Megatron ordered. "And some one get that sorry sap bleeding all over the floor there to the medics. As to the rest of you."

He flicked his red optics over the remaining, stunned Decepticons as Flickword and his unconscious bully were taken away. Everyone else was looking around, somewhat confused about Flickword's uncharacteristic outburst and guilty with Megatron's optics burning on them.

"Is there anyone here who can tell me what happened?" Megatron asked, turning his head this way and that to scan the crowd. "_Any_ one?"

No one spoke up.

"Fine. Then _no one_ is allowed energon until someone speaks-"Megatron said, turning away to leave.

"Sir!" one of the mechs suddenly exclaimed.

Megatron turned to him. "What is it, Solarflare?"

"Well, sir," the femme Seeker said, "Brawny-and-bleeding over there and his group gained on Flickword and began to beat him up for his looks and speech. Then--it was weird! Flickword just went haywire on them and beat the slag out of him! He wasn't going to take it anymore!"

"Hmm…" Megatron mused. "Looks like that moth has what it takes to survive after all," he muttered quietly, but easily heard in the cafeteria's silence. "Alright," he announced. "Energon ban lifted. As you were."

Megatron turned to leave, but he tossed a glance at Mextron before he left with Starscream and Shockwave on his heels.


	27. Speech Therapy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine. All mine...**

**Chapter 27: Speech Therapy**

"So… how you feeling?"

Flickword looked up and saw Mextron standing outside of his cell just beyond the energon-generated electricity bars. Mash was on guard for the holding cells at the end of the dead-end hall, fedicated fully to his task of making sure that no one tried releasing any one on solitary confinement punishment. Hey, Skywarp had already done it several times, why not anyone else?

"M-m-m-my h-head's h-h-h-heavy and-and m-m-my s-s-s-sides h-h-h-hurt, b-b-b-but I f-f-feel g-g-g-g-g-g-g-good," Flickword replied.

"I must say that I'm impressed," Mextron said. "Even somewhat proud of you for the way you stood up for yourself today. The mech who attacked you is in the medical bay for the next week for repairs and rest and everyone can't stop talking about it. I think you've got it pretty well established that you're not taking any more slag from _anyone_."

Flickword could only beam proudly. "I-I-I-isn't y-y-your d-d-d-d-dad m-m-mad t-t-t-t-that y-y-you're t-t-talking t-to his-his-his t-t-t-t-troops l-l-l-like t-t-t-this?"

"Huh? My dad?" Mextron asked, caught off guard.

"W-W-We all k-know," Flickword said with an easy roll of his shoulders. "T-That y-y-you're the-the Lord M-Megatron's s-s-s-son."

"You do?" Mextron asked, surprised.

"We do," Mash called from his guard spot.

"How?" Mextron asked, turning towards the guard.

"Well, it's all rather common knowledge, actually," Mash said, turning and taking a few steps closer to Mextron. "You look like what we would imagine him young and a human. You have the same leadership thing going on. It wasn't too hard to figure out, really, once we saw the way you two led. You just lead with a little more respect to your guys than Megatron."

"Wow, I didn't realize it was that obvious," Mextron mused.

"It is," Flickword said. "W-W-W-we also n-n-n-n-n-know that-that-that all the-the other e-e-e-Efforts are-are the S-Sparklings of-of the-the-the el-elites."

"Really, now?" Mextron inquired.

That was when Cartwheel came skipping into the dead end prison hall, blond hair streaked in black and blue bouncing in her pony tail.

"Oh, hello, Ms. Cartwheel," Mash said with a respectful nod. Most people liked the sweet-faced, soft-spoken girl either for her sweet nature or how they felt stronger hovering over her.

"Hello," she told Mash as she went over to Flickword's cell. "Did you get a booboo fighting a bully, Flickword?"

Mash and Flickword both stared at Mextron over Cartwheel's head for advice. Mash's face was straight, but his shoulders were starting to shake and his mouth was clamped shut as he barely held back a flood of laughter. Flickword's antanne bobbed gently in confusion and embarassment. Mextron shrugged helplessly, grinning like a fool, and pointed an index finger up.

"Um, y-y-y-y-y-yeah, on-on m-m-m-m-my f-f-f-f-f-finger?" Flickword said unsurely, carefully holding a finger out to Cartwheel.

"Boo-boo healing kiss!" Cartwheel declared with childish optimistic fevor before kissing Flickword on the offered finger.

"W-w-w-w-well t-t-t-t-thank y-y-y-you-"Flickword began to say.

Suddenly, he burst out coughing, sitting down hard on the floor of his cell and placing a hand to his throat as he coughed in spasms. The coughing was violent enough so that it sobered up Mextron and Mash, making them exchange looks as Cartwheel's wings shuddered with force. His inner machinery was making harsh noises as it scrapped and screeched against each other.

"Wow, Flickword, what happened?" Mash asked, walking closer. "Did you swallow a bug or something?"

Flickword didn't answer and Mash implored more forecfully, "Flickword!"

"N-No, I'm- I'm-I'm"Flickword coughed. He paused, letting out one huge whooping cough one more time. A small blob of slimey, glowing purple substance flew out of his mouth, making Mextron duck as it hit the floor behind him. Flickword's inner machinery quited down as he coughed more gently and shook his head and shoulders before finally speaking.

"I'm fine, thanks..... Hey, my sides don't hurt any more-"

He stopped short, blinking quietly as something made a growing whistle as it charged up; the sound of a CPU in overdrive and making an epiphany. Everyone stared at him in shock. Finally, he jumped to his feet and smacked his hands to his head, his wings flaring out in shock.

_"Holy Primus and holy slag!!"_ he yelled. _"My stutter is gone!"_

"Hmm, congradulations, Cartwheel," Mextron told the nine-year old girl with a small smile. "It looks like the energon is finally taking an effect on you. You have healing powers."

"Yay!" Cartwheel cheered, jumping up in the air.

Mextron smiled, even though he was somewhat jealous that now he was officially the only Effort without a power now. It was embarassing, but he couldn't go about complaining about it; just suck it up and keep going.

"Young lady," Flickword whooped, spinning around on one heel. "_You_ are a _miracle_! Oh happy days oh wow I speak nice and wow!"

"Congradulations, Cartwheel," Mash said with a smile. "_That'll_ be useful in the med bay! Congratulations, Flickword!"

"Indeed," Mextron agreed. "Report to the medbay and show the medics this latest power. I'm sure they could always enjoy a helping hand."

"Yes, sir!" Cartwheel said with a small salute before turning and bolting out of the holding cells' hall.

As Flickword trailed off into a long series of common phrases and tongue twisters to enjoy his new talent, Cartwheel darted right past Megatron, who was watching from the end of the hall. He had been drawn there when he had heard Flickword's coughing. Now he stared at Flickword, a moth-man mech he had been expecting to be killed in the Decepticon ranks for his weakness, now held in a holding cell for beating another mech up with in an inch of their death.

He was mad.

Mextron had talked to this Flickword and made him a better soldier with some bits of advice in a couple days than Megatron had made with fear and force in _a year._ Now here one of the brat's friends was suddenly fixing mechs with a touch. He was angry and jealous that Mextron had this kind of power at his hands. He had an idea as to what he could do about it. If this kid was a threat, he would have to be dealt with like one.


	28. Captured

**Disclaimer: Hasbro own Transformers, I own the Efforts and the story.**

**Chapter 23: Captured**

Mextron darted from rock clump to rock clump under the starry desert night sky. The sand around him stretched for miles around him; a frozen ocean of sand that was deep blue in this light. His grey and white uniform had been replaced with a proper all-black field work outfit, complete with boots, trousers, tight tee shirt with an army jacket covered in pockets. He had a common bullet gun and some knives with him, along with some medical supplies and a little communicator to keep in contact with base with and some bottles of energon for provisions. He scanned the rocky desert in front of him that lead to some rocky hills in the middle of the desert, thinking back to what Megatron told him.

_"I've recently gotten a private message from a Transformer in some hills near here. He seems to be an extraordinary mercenary and warrior. He claims that he will swear his services to the Decepticon cause and even led us to an even better base of operations if he will meet one of us in person to discuss a contract. _

"_I have too many good mechs to loose if this is a trap, and I don't want an idiot messing it up. Your fellow Efforts are too busy with their duties here—Ferrofluid and Skynet are updating and expanding the base, Shadowleap and Smartmouth are on guard duty, and Cartwheel is about to start medic duty. Hence, the only person I can trust with this mission is you. Take this outfit I stooped to steal on the last raid and go to these coordinates. I'll drop you off near them soon. After that, contact me via the communicator __only__ if you manage to win this recruit to our side. Otherwise, don't bother; I __won't__ come back for you."_

The mission thus given, Mextron found himself near some strange rocky hills in the freezing desert night, trying to find the location of this "super soldier" fellow and attempt to recruit him to the Decepticon cause. But his instincts were screaming something at him. They were screaming so loud, in fact, that he couldn't understand what they were saying. So concentrated was he on the land in front of him and trying to figure out why his stomach felt like a pit, that he did not notice the movement behind.

Suddenly, something clicked and Mextron froze, looking around.

Their presence known, shadows leaped from behind rocks and people leaped up from their disguised spots on the ground. Mextron drew a knife in one hand a gun in the other, prepared to fight, but with in the blink of an eye, ten men surrounded him, guns pointed at him and failing any chance of freedom.

Two of the guards and a too-familiar man came into the circle. His lab coat was gone, replaced with cargo pants and an army jacket, but it was still the same thin, black-beard and hair doctor that had been the source of many sour memories. Just the thought of what he had wanted to do Smartmouth made Mextron want to stab him, gun surrounded or not, but self preservation permitted him to only clench his teeth in hatred.

"Well, well, well, Michel, fancy meeting _you_ here," Dr. Moriguchi said. "I'd like to find out why your _father_ dropped you off right into the lap of Breaker Labs' territory."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

The main computer room was being attended to by six Decepticons, staring up at the newly installed radars and jumbo-Tron computer screens watching satellite feed. Megatron, Shockwave, Soundwave, and the Seekers were there, examining the satellite feed and determining what their next target was to be. Skynet and Smartmouth entered the turquoise-lit room.

"Sir," Skynet said. "Inquiry as to where Effort Mextron is. He has been missing for an excess of twenty four hours."

"He's a on a mission," Megatron stated, "Attempting to recruit a valuable warrior into our ranks."

"How valuable?" Smartmouth asked.

"That is none of your business," Megatron growled.

"Can we at least get a name or hint as to where he went?" Smartmouth asked.

"Negative, now leave before I suddenly realize that you were not authorized to come in here and I stomp you," Megatron snarled.

Smartmouth and Skynet shrugged to each other and left the room. They met up with Ferrofluid, Cartwheel, Shadowleap, and Flickword at the corner of a nearby intersection of halls.

"Megs says that he sent Mex on a mission to recruit some big wig into the army," Smartmouth reported. "I didn't want to do this, but he's left me no choice. Skynet? Do your stuff. And be careful; I don't want us getting caught."

Skynet nodded before going into himself, quietly and slyly slipping into the computer systems and their communication information data banks.

"So, do you _really_ think Megs did off with Mextron?" Shadowleap asked.

"Wouldn't put it past him." Smartmouth snorted.

"Perhaps it is something of the 'alpha male' syndrome?" Ferrofluid suggested, his new black sunglasses winking in the hall way lights. "Megatron thought he saw Mextron becoming stronger and did off with him while he was still growing."

"All because I learned to stand for myself," Flickword said, shaking his head sadly. "I hope that Mextron isn't in trouble."

"_Megatron_ better hope that Mextron isn't in trouble," Cartwheel growled. "Or no amount of rank or size differences will save him from my wrath when I stuff his over sized, old guy aft in a scrapper and turn him into a bunch of chrome-finished toilets."

Everybody blinked and Skynet came out of his telepathic reverie to slowly turn and stare at her.

"What?" she asked as she shrugged helplessly. "No one's perfect."

"What are you two doing?" Mash asked when he and Solarflare came around the corner. Cornoa was sitting on Solarflare's shoulders.

"Nothing!" the Efforts and moth man mech exclaimed, looking away nervously.

Solarflare, Mash, and Corona exchanged looks then looked back down at the small group.

"Are you _sure_?" Solarflare asked.

"Um, y-yeah, we're sure," Smartmouth lied, looking around. "And, um,hey!Youthreeareonenergonguardduty,MOVE IT!"

Speaking thus, Smartmouth ran behind either of the intruding mechs and began to push on the back of their calves, trying to get them to leave.

"What--?" Mash began to ask, turning slightly to look down at her.

Smartmouth bared her teeth and growled, then twin orbs of light appeared hovering over her shoulders and shot at the heads of the Seeker and jet Transformers.

"I said _beat it!_"

Thus getting the idea, a very confused Solarflare, Mash, and Corona obedieantly ran away down the hall and away from the ferosious Effort.

Turning back into his telepathic, technopath probing, Skynet gently stepped over fire walls and protection systems, coming to the communications data banks. Just as he was about to reach into them, Soundwave's own massive conscious suddenly appeared, catching him and holding him firm. Before Soundwave could even ask what Skynet was doing, Skynet sent him a series of telepathic messages, telling him how the Efforts thought Megatron, in a fit of an alpha male fight, had gotten rid of Mextron. Skynet was checking to see how Megatron knew of this "warrior" Mextron was supposed to recruit and find the coordinates of this warrior.

Understanding, Soundwave released Skynet, but went on into the communications data banks. He swept over it and came back to Skynet. The information he told Skynet had the organic snapping out of his reverie with uncharacteristic quickness.

"We have to hurry," Skynet announced sprinting towards the garage and making his comrades follow him at a run. "Mextron is in danger. Flickword-can you take us to the coordinates I have?"

"Sure, anywhere you need," Flickword confirmed.

Jumping up, the light purple and yellow robot transformed. His moth wings stiffened, becoming glider wings as he curled into himself and made his body into a round, disk-shaped cruiser craft with broad gliding wings. Swooping low, he opened his craft's bay doors. Shadowleap grabbed Cartwheel and Smartmouth, teleported them into the craft, then teleported back out to grab Ferrofluid and Skynet and teleport them into the craft. The door shut and the craft picked up pace. Skynet ordered the garage doors to open and the hover craft exploded out of the doors, causing mechs in the halls they flew through to hit the floor or jump aside to avoid being run over.

Mash and Solarflare had to duck as Flickword flew outside. They exchanged looks and seemed to come to a mutual agrement. They both nodded. Mash turned into a jeep and took off driving over the hills while Solarflare turned into a tetra jet and flew off after Flickword.

_"Hey! Where o you two think you're going?"_ A commanding officer demanded over their communications' links.

"After them," Solarflare grunted before she snapped the comm. link back with base and sped away.

Even as the Efforts in their Decepticon craft discussed a plan, and Mash and Solarflare flew after them, back in the map room, their exit did not go unnoticed.


	29. Common Knowledge

**Disclaimer: Transformers = Hasbro, Efforts + story = Mine**

**Chapter 28: Common Knowledge**

Everyone in the computer room jumped as Flickword blasted by, the wind wild and the roar of engines loud.

"_What_ is that _idiot_ doing??" Megatron snarled.

"Uh, Megatron," Skywarp said, shaking himself off to recover from the hovercraft's recoil. "Exactly _where_ did you send Mextron?"

"Near a place called Rust Rocks to talk with a Transformer there," Megatron replied.

"Uh, sir?" one of the mechs at the computers, a red and gold one, said. "There's no Transformer there."

"Yes, there is," Megatron insisted.

"No, there isn't," another male mech, blue and grey, objected. "Common knowledge, really; that's one of the Breaker Labs' original back up stations. Anyone getting close to it got fried. Happened to my friend, Jimmy."

"Poor Jimmy," the red and gold mech said sympathetically.

"Then there can not be a Transformer to recruit there," Soundwave summarized.

"Definitely," the red and gold mech agreed, nodding.

"Lord Megatron…" Shockwave said slowly. "Did you-did you send your own Sparkling to _his death?"_

"Shockwave, not in front of the soldiers!" Megatron hissed.

"It's all cool, we already know," a third mech, bright lime green and blue, said, waving a hand dismissively.

"Y-You do?" Megatron asked dumbly.

"Yeah, it's common knowledge now, actually," the blue and grey mech said. "You and Mextron got the same leadership abilities; lead until the kids need some smacking to get in line, then smack them. Except Mextron has a longer waiting period for the smacking."

"Everyone on base's figured out that you guys are the Effort's dads, especially when one of the hackers saw the files about the experiments here. Like Skynet; he looks and acts just like Soundwave so they're father and son. Pit, practically _twins_, _I_ think…"

"Then there's Ferrofluid and Shockwave always working together, so _they're_ a package," the red and yellow computer counsel Transformer said.

"Cartwheel has Thundercracker's colors in her hair, so that's obvious. Plus, Cartwheel's got a soft touch, just like her dad," a purple and pink female mech sighed dreamily, hugging herself.

Everyone turned to stare at Thundercracker, who shifted on his feet nervously.

"You tapped that? Nice!" Skywarp laughed, holding a hand up to Thundercracker to high-five.

"Then there's Shadowleap and Skywarp," the lime green and blue mech said as he chuckled. "Pit, their actions alone make it painfully obvious."

"Oh, and as for Smartmouth and Starscream," the femme shrugged. "Let's face it; they're one and the same, right down to the colors. The only thing that separated them is that Smartmouth's got more backbone and is not as power hungry and she's a girl and Starscream's a guy. But the true gender of Starscream is open to discussion in some circles."

"Fine, yes, we're fathers to some organics via evil scientists," Starscream admitted, uncharacteristically admitting, waving a hand in a dismissive gesture. Everyone noticeibly jolted on their feet in surprise at this.

"What ever. Point is; Megatron, you sent your own Sparkling to Breaker Lab territories!"

"If he is indeed my son, he will be fine," Megatron growled, looking away as he crossed his arms across his chest. "He will survive and come back, even if the Breaker Lab base has Autobot reinforcements."

_"WHAT!?"_

Starscream burst into action. A red, white, and blue streak swept through the air and slammed Megatron against the wall hard enough to make a small dent, making everyone jump in surprise. They didn't realize that Starscream could move that fast! And while Starscream always jeered at Megatron, he wouldn't openly up-in-his-face attack him, would he? He didn't have the spine for it!

_"My daughter is __going to rescue him__, you slagging idiot!"_ Starscream yelled into Megatron's face, pinning the war leader to the wall by his arms. "They'll get killed!"

"Sense when were _you_ so concerned about organics, Starscream?" Megatron snarled.

"Sense that organic turned about to be apart _my_ Spark," Starscream said quietly. He released Megatron, stepping back to glare down at him. "You make me _sick_, Megatron," Starscream sneered. "Seekers! We have some Autobot slag to kick!"

Thundercracker and Skywarp followed Starscream out of the room. Soundwave and Shockwave stayed, but they looked away as Megatron got to his feet.

"Those fools better die out there," Megatron said, brushing himself off "Because I'm certainly not-- _geaugh!"_

Megatron suddenly hit the floor hard on his knees, clutching his sparking chest. The other mechs leaped to their feet and Soundwave knelt in front of Megatron.

"Warning: Detect unusual energy flux in Spark," Soundwave diagnosed. "Cause: Unknown."

"That's strange-- "Megatron began to say, but screamed in pain again as another shock ripped his body. The other mechs were trying to figure out how to help him, but suddenly, he _knew_ what the matter was.

Somewhere, Mextron was in extreme pain and Megatron's own Spark, sensing Mextron's, was attacking him reminding him of his betrayal. It was common knowledge, really; connected Sparks never betrayed each other.

"Soundwave, help me up," Megatron panted, teeth grinding against pain. "Shockwave; gather a small force. We have a human base to destroy."


	30. Rescue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or anything attached to it. Just the Efforts and the story.**

**Chapter 25: Rescue**

It was still night time, breaching on dawn, when Flickword hovered towards the last known location of Mextron under stealth. Smartmouth, Cartwheel, Shadowleap, Ferrofluid, and Skynet all watched his scanners flick across his window, through which they could see the sudden rocky hill poking out of the rolling sand dunes. The extra terrestrial hyper cruiser frantically pointed out numerous human bodies hidden all around the rocks and even some Transformer guards supporting the tribal red face insignia of the Autobots. Flickword gently landed, but he still vibrated beneath them, showing his nervousness.

"Slag, guys, slag!" he whimpered. "Autobots! Autobots everywhere!"

"We see, Flick," Smartmouth said, patting Flickword's unmanned driver's seat. "Skynet, can you feel Mextron?"

"Affirmative," Skynet agreed. "Mextron is approximately three hundred yards in front of us and ten yards below the surface of the ground. His mental waves suggest extreme discomfort. Recommended action—"

"Go in and kick some aft," Smartmouth snarled, stomping towards the door.

"Yes," Skynet agreed.

"Smartmouth," Ferrofluid snapped, making her stop. "We have to figure up a plan!"

"We've been _planning_ on our way _here_!" Smartmouth yelled. "Let's just _do_ it!"

"Hey! Hey!" Flickword exclaimed. "I hear some people coming over the com link—it's Mash and Solar Flare!"

"Solar Flare, the feisty hot chick?" Shadowleap asked. "What does she want?"

_"Helping you, silly!"_ the Seeker said, darting by over head in jet mode under stealth. _"Word spread fast when some of the recruits heard about what happened to Mextron. Mash and I came on because, well," _She did a fast flip over head in an attempt at a jet's shrug. _"It just didn't feel right, sending a kid into death…"_

_"We'll distract the guards while you kids go in and rescue Mextron,"_ Mash said over the communications link, topping a dune behind them in his army jeep form as the sun came up. _"So when stuff starts exploding—"_

_"Look out below!!"_ Solar Flare whooped, shooting laser fire down on the gaurds.

_"GO!!" _Mash bellowed, speeding down his dune and past Flickword.

Mash jumped up and transformed, landing in a crouching position with both guns drawn from his thigh casings and shooting at any one who dared show themselves.

The Efforts charged out of Flickword's bay doors when he opened them. Ferrofluid and Skynet led the way while Smartmouth shot at the appearing gaurds with her shoulder-based laser shots and Shadowleap teleported everywhere in excitement and Cartwheel stuck close to Smartmouth, her eyes narrowed to the point of almost being closed, expressing her nervousness in the roaring battle.

In Ferrofluid's mis-matched eyes, the world became black and white negative shots and layers of texture slide aside to reveal the bones of humans, the inner systems of Transformers, and the residents of a building structure hidden below ground.

"Hidden garage trap door, right in front of us, electronicly powered," he announced, stopping ten feet in front of a large out cropping of orange, rust-colored rocks.

Understanding, Skynet also stopped, his mind sneaking out to find the large iron's door's opening mechanism and tapping it, badeing it to open up. Shadowleap teleported on top of the door, grinning like a fool as Skynet worked his technopath abilities. Shadow was enjoying the adventure, depending on the grin on his face.

He looked down, humming in confusion when the sandy ground beneath him shuttered and began to lift up.

"Oh!" he cried out in surprise as the ground lifted up. He jumped up, disappearing in a burst of black smoke and fog.

"Um, can you do that a little faster!?" Smartmouth yelped, shooting at a red Autobot approaching them.

Shadowleap reappeared, clasping his hands around Smartmouth's trim waist.

"Let's go!" Shadowleap declared.

"Hands off the merchandise, you little freak!" Smartmouth snarled.

But at "you", she and Shadowleap disappeared in a flare of blackness.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Flickword, meanwhile, was fighting frantically with foot, fist, wing, and staff (formed from his back), and just barely keeping back his more skilled, professionally trained Autobot foes.

"Slag, slag, slag, slag, _slag!!"_ he wailed.

"Need help, buddy?" Mash asked, appearing beside Flickword.

Four shots from Mash's two hand guns successfully felled Flickword's opponents.

"Wow, you're good," Flickword commented, looking down on the four smoking mechs.

They looked up as a wild war whoop tore over the air and a jet screamed as it flew down low over the Autobots and human guards. The jet transformed into Solar Flare. Her turbo-fox Corona slipped out of her chest and perched on her shoulders, baring its teeth in ferocity at the oponnets. Solar Flare pointed at one unlucky Autobot and commanded for Corona to attack. Corona leaped through the air and attached itself to the unlucky mech's face while Solar Flare spun around, knocking a couple of mechs out with a round-house kick before drawing her gun and shooting out several human guards.

"She's better," Mash stated.

"Decepticons, attack!"

Mash and Flickword looked up to see twenty air-born Decepticons flying into battle, led by Megatron, the Seekers, and Soundwave.

"Well, look who's changed his mind," Flickword said, his antennae-topped eye brows crunching together in a frown.

"Shut up and keep shooting!" Solar Flare screeched over her shoulder at them.

"Yes ma'am!" the jeep and moth-mech agreed as they went back to fighting.

**AN: Hey, little heads up guys; Dad's on vacation for two weeks, summer and all, and since he hogs the internet, I might not be able to update every day like I usually do. Just hang tight, everyone! And thank you for all the reviews! :)**


	31. Metamorphisis

**Disclaimer: I own the Effotrs and the story, Hasbro gots cookies on the TFs.**

**PS: Get's gruesome breifly. Just a heads up.**

**Chapter 26: Metamorphisis**

Mextron was strapped to a table, shirt and jacket removed and metal barbs were being touched to his chest to electrocute him. The scientists around him in the cold, concrete room seemed to be unaffected by his screams of pain as the electricity ripped him apart.

"Interesting," Moriguchi commented, shouting over Mextron's screams. "It appears that while the energy is burning you, it's not melting your brain like I initially hoped it would. Pity…" He smirked as he turned a knob on the machine attached to the barbs. "Let's turn the juice up, then?"

Mextron screamed as another wave of burning hot electricity jumped from the metal barbs and into his skin, clawing at his organs and making his heart flip-flop over itself in pain. His heart was doing a tap dance in his chest, but he felt something beside it get pushed over rudely-- His Spark Chamber? How does he know that? And he did _not_ want to get to meet it this way. He was left panting in pain as the energy flow subsided. Moriguchi leaned down to whisper into his ear.

"Your life has never been worth anything," Moriguchi hissed. "You were made from the scum scrapped off of the bottom of a septic and preservative tank and that's all you've ever been; scum. I'm doing you a favor by finding out all these little kinks in you. It helps you become much more eager for death when you realize exactly how broken and useless you are. But, unfortunately, we're a _long_ way from that point…."

He turned the energy flow even higher so that the machine was whistling with charged energy now. Mextron stared at the metal node barb as it was raised for another prod, preparing for the next shock…

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the underground cement walled-and-floored base and dirt rained from above as sirens began to scream for a moment before a smaller, more distant explosion made the power go out.

"What is going on??" Moriguchi roared in the darkness. "Can't those Auto-_idiots_ handle a mere distraction!?"

"Sir!" Someone reported. "The other Efforts are here and have Decepticon allies. More are coming!"

"Well get out there and shoot them!" Moriguchi snapped.

"It's, uh, not quite that simple-- "

"Oh? And how is it 'not quite that simple'?"

"Sir, they have a super powered _telepath_ with them."

"What--?"

To clarify, a high-pitched screech suddenly ripped through the air, shattering glass and plastic, even as a low, heavy telepathic blow came from below, knocking the humans out between the sonic screech and the massive telepathic punch. Mextron heard a series of groans and thumps as the scientists collapsed all around him. He heard Moriguchi yip in pain and a wet squealch as he fell. Mextron sat in the darkness, heart thumping and his limbs trembling in anticipation. He noticed a small glow and looked to where it was coming from; his chest. Sure enough, a small area of his chest, right in the center where his heart was, was glowing a dim grey.

"Oh, that's creepy," Mextron muttered.

The door was kicked open and the blackness was lit up by a flashlight, stolen from a guard. Mextron felt the comfortingly familiar touch of a telepath and smiled; his freinds had come to rescue him. Skynet jumped over the unconscious bodies to reach Mextron with Shadowleap and Cartwheel behind him. Shadowleap touched Mextron. The darkness seemed to close in for a moment before Mextron found himself standing uneasily beside the examination table, having been teleported out of his metal clasp bonds by the teleporter.

"You okay, Mex?" Cartwheel asked, touching Mextron on the bare shoulder.

Rejuvenation flooded Mextron from the little girl's touch as Skynet wordlessly handed him a jacket stolen from a guard and he slipped into it.

"I am now," Mextron sighed gratefully. "Megatron sent me on a trick mission—"

"We know, come," Skynet said quickly, leading the way out the room. "This base has Autobot guards and we must leave before they call reinforcements."

Out in the dark hall, Smartmouth and Ferrofluid waited, stolen flash lights and guns in hand. Smartmouth was rubbing her neck.

"Wow," she grunted, "Didn't realize that it worked _that_ well…"

"What did?" Mextron asked.

"Remember how I busted Skynet that one time?" Smartmouth aske as they began to walk through the underground base's narrow concrete halls. "I learned how to use it on purpose; super sonic scream, baby!"

"Oh dear Primus help us," Mextron groaned. "Not only is she annoying, but she's _loud_ now."

Smartmouth slapped him, but gently.

"Invisible drone, eleven o' clock, near ceiling!" Ferrofluid suddenly barked, pointing.

Smartmouth raised her left arm and pointed to the mentioned area, almost as if she was doing a Hitler salute. A white ball formed on her shoulder and followed up her arm to shoot into the designated point, all with in three seconds. A laser blast hit mid air and froze, crackling with energy as a ghostly outline took shape in the shadows, forming a small silvery drone that fell from its perch on the ceiling with a crash. Its silver optic flashed as sharp metal claws twitched, reaching for the ceiling, before it remained still.

"Primus, I love my powers," Ferrofluid muttered, adgusting his sunglasses.

"Wow," Mextron said dumbly, hearing the fight outside. "You guys… _came_ for me?"

"We got your back, Mex," Shadowleap laughed, winking in the dark shadows. "Come on, we got some aft to kick!"

Running through the narrow concrete halls, they soon came to a small set of stairs that led up to an underground garage. Sand was still raining from the door that had just been lifted up from beneath the sands and Decepticons were pouring into the base, attacking the humans, the biomechanical suited humans, and the few rare Autobots fighting back. They saw sun light flash on grey metal and there was Megatron admist the fight against Breaker Labs people, being unable to resist a scrap with true Autobots.

"What's Megatron doing here?" Smartmouth yelled over the fight.

"Good question," Mextron said. "But for now—Skynet, scramble their minds, Cartwheel: heal our guys, Shadowleap: teleport the Autobots into the open to get shot by our air-born guys. Other than that…" He picked up a large gun from a fallen human soldier and cocked it.

"Fight!"

And they did.

Metal flew, energon and blood flowed, and people screamed as they died the injured tried crawling away, only to be killed where they lay. Smartmouth found herself separated from her comrades as she fought a guard that was wielding, unbelievably, two swords; a man of Arabian decent, she could see. She dodged the swords as they came down on her, bringing one of her feet up to strike him in the chest. His grip on his swords loosened and Smartmouth followed her instincts and what ever battle program that came with being Starscream's daughter. She rammed her kene into the man's lower back and he dropped his swords in reflex. He turned to fight her, fist-to-fist, but she opened her mouth and let out a short, savage screech directly into his face. His eyes rolled back in his head as he reeled on his feet, the sound knocking him hideously off balance. Smartmouth clasped both hands into one massive fist and slammed it up under the man's chin, sending him flying away on his back. When he landed, Ravage appeared and finished the job.

"Ew," Smartmouth stated before turning away.

Time froze when she saw Moriguchi standing in the dark door way to the base's interior. She saw that a large head wound was spilling blood down the man's face. A metal barb from the machine he had been testing on Mextron was pierced in and out through his right cheek, the wire end dangling uselessly. A look of pure murder twisted his bloody features, making him a gory demon of vengeance from hell. He was staring at Mextron, who was fighting with his back to Moriguchi, oblivious to the doctor. A gun was in Moriguchi's hands; just a simple, bullet-spitting black metal hand gun.

But one bullet from that gun was all that was needed to kill Mextron.

And Smartmouth wasn't fast enough to stop him.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Mextron felt something huge and forceful plunge into his back and out of his chest, ripping his skin open, and entering a cavity with in him. It was rude, invasive, and heartless. His entire body made him stop so fast that he lost his balance and fell to his knees even as his hands went up to stop the blood squirting from the new wound in his chest. He looked down at the bullet wound as blood as red as Smartmouth's hair dribbled from it, staining his palms red. Around him, Smartmouth was screaming his name, Megatron was yelling orders, but slowing when he saw Mextron falling. Ferrofluid had caught Cartwheel up in his arms, struggling to keep her running out into gun fire to help him. Skynet and Shadowleap stared in mute horror. Mextron had been shot, dead on.

_I'm dead_, was Mextron's simple realization.

Then time became… warped. It didn't speed up, but neither was it slow. He felt the metal bullet strike something sacred and rare with in him. The sacred item with in him reacted by blazing to life, seizing the intruding bullet. The bullet wanted to be in the body so badly? Fine! It could become _part_ of the body!!

The blazing item with in Mextron roared to life, devouring the frightened bullet and breaking it down, manipulating it beyond believable capabilities as it spread throughout Mextron's body. Every vein, every fiber of muscle, ever drop of blood became alit with this blazing thing as it continued to manipulate the now confused bullet whose tables had turned quickly. The blazing feeling pressed against Mextron's skin, pressing it out before it permeated it, glowing a super red light as it exited his very pores. The battle was slowing around him as everyone turned to see the astonishing change. Even Megatron fell silent, his jaw dropping as he slowly turned towards the boy.

The light became hard as it exited Mextron. The light beams weaved around each other and hardened, becoming solid light before becoming metal. Metal plates sprouted on Mextron, making him grow and harden as the plates became locked together in a firm exoskeleton. With in him, the light froze and strengthened his organs and guts, dissolving them into light to remake them into more practical organs, like coolant systems and inner computers. One of Mextron's hands came out in front of him and he watched as the skin and bone became wires and metal before the metal plates growing down his arm encased his palm and metal rings covered and capped his fingers. A helmet sprouted around his head, possessively encasing his face even as he felt the moisture of his saliva-filled mouth dry up and air out and normally warm tubes became cold plastics and metals. He gasped, drawing air not into lungs but a system of cooling tubes as his teeth became metal plates whose sole goal was for communication reasons. He shut his eyes tight as they ached briefly and became dry. When he opened them again, moist eye balls with whites and pupils did not greet the world but red glass optics. In his vision, the world became framed in many shapes, hyper cruisers, and targets, telling him what was dangerous and what wasn't at what distance and what he should do.

On his new silver metal back, large wings, like a metallic hawk, sprouted, the long metal feathers bursting into the air eagerly. The feathers then connected together and stiffened, forming some sort of super extra terrestrial jet wings unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. A black gun pushed rudely against the underside of the metal exoskeleton on his right arm before the metal gave way and release it, allowing it to raise up through the metal as it parted like liquid. The new weapon glinted maliciously in the light, winking at its comrades and the soon-to-be-killed-by-it alike.

The pain was gone. The fatigue was gone. The fear was gone. The _weakness_ was gone. All that was left was a cold machine with a Spark at its center, ready to fight and prepared with a seventeen foot-tall silver metal body, a black arm cannon, and enormous metal feathered wings from the metallic heavens themselves. Mextron glanced around at the frozen battlefield from beneath the red visor that had come to be clasped over his optics. Finally, a smirk crossed across his exposed white metal face.

"So," he said, his voice twittering through his metal vocal cords. He raised his cannon-clad arm as systems with in him connected and assembled at their master's mental commands. "Who wishes to die first?"

**AN: One more chapter...**


	32. A Won Battle?

**Disclaimer: One last time; I own Efforts and the story, but Transformers goes to Hasbro.**

**Chapter 31: A Won Battle?**

Intimidated and shocked by Mextron's transformation from human to robot, anyone not on his side decided that they didn't want to know how much damage he could do in his new form and broke and ran. The Decepticons killed as many of the fleeing soldiers as they could, while most still stared at Mextron. What soldiers who were not killed managed to make it to the six cruiser ships that were waiting to take off. Not wanting to have under gone this amazing change for nothing, Mextron darted out of the garage and jumped into the air, spreading his wings. The metal wings caught hot air and tiny gears with in him lifted him into the air. Raising his arm, he shout out two of the dark green, blocky carriers with his arm cannon without hesitation.

Below, the Decepticons shook themselves out of their shock and they joined in the shooting. Only one carrier craft escaped. Just as Mextron was about to go after it, Megatron's voice stopped him.

"Let them go," Megatron said. "It is time that the world knew that we were back."

Mextron nodded grudgingly and came to land on the hot desert sand in front of Megatron. The other Decepticons stood a safe distance back, watching them.

Megatron looked Mextron up and down as he slowly circled the Effort-come-Transformer. Finally, he stopped in front of Mextron and placed both hands on Mextron's shoulders.

"My son," he whispered. "You've come to your own—"

Mextron lifted a fist and punched Megatron in the face, sending the older and larger mech falling onto his aft in the sand.

"What was _that_ for?" Megatron demanded, whipping energon from his nose.

"For sending me into enemy territory for absolutely no reason!" Mextron snarled, red optics flashing. "You can't indirectly murder me then just expect it all to be over looked when I finally develop powers. So what I want to know _right now_, Megatron," He growled, lifting his charging laser cannon to point at Megatron. "Is why I shouldn't kill you now."

Megatron's optics dimmed slightly as he stood up. He took a deep breath, collecting his pride for the sacrifice, and spoke.

"When I first saw you, it was when you were leading your Efforts into battle to free myself and my comrades from the Breaker Labs' prison. "What made me stop looking at you as something to use and made me see you as something sentient was when you told me that a leader needs to go into battle to prove that he knows what's going on, and that he can kick rebellious soldiers' aft if they ever acted up. The only thing I could think of in response to that was to remember all the times Starscream tried taking the Decepticons from me and think 'why didn't I do that? Why didn't I just go into battle and kick a bunch of Autobot aft to show Starscream who was boss?'

"As I continued to see more and more of your leadership, I often saw you as a weak Autobot at times; when you helped Shadowleap get into Skywarp on that first scouting mission, when you help Cartwheel find a suitable jacket for the day, and when you rushed to help Skynet when Smartmouth injured him. You care for your Efforts like a father, and that's what makes me sick and hate you, for soldiers don't need a father, they need a leader.

"And yet…" Megatron sighed. "And yet, I see other mechs responding to this treatment in the same way. Flickword became more loyal to you because of your advice, and several mechs with in our ranks stay here only because of what you said. And that's what pushed me into dropping you off in Death's backyard: I was jealous of your power over my mechs. But now I see…."

Megatron lowered his head and rubbed his head uncomfortably. This was _embarassing_ for him.

"Now I see that you have taught me a valuable lesson; I don't have to love my men, but I _can_ treat them with at least enough respect for their following me that they won't wind up wanting to shoot me in the back all the time, _Starscream_."

The Seeker smirked.

"So, my reason for you not to shoot me is a pathetic one," Megatron said to Mextron. "We have much to learn from each other, like we have today, and I want to continue learning from each other. Will you accept?"

Mextron stared at Megatron for a long time. Tensions built as people waited for the second a blinding laser flash would replace the leaders of the Decepticon army. But the flash never came.

The arm cannon powered down as Mextron lowered it.

"Come on, he growled, turning away. "We can loot this base for energon and metal and get back before sun set."

It was official now; Megatron had tried to kill his son, Mextron, but he had been lucky to survive when Mextron almost repaid the favor. This would result in rocky ground in the future. But for now, a truce had been reached: Mextron, leader of the Efforts, would follow Megatron, leader of the Decepticons, for as long as he chose. But it would never be as father and son; it would only be as war leader with a general.

**Epilogue **

Energon leaked from a laceration in his upper left arm and he clamped his right arm over it, stemming the flow. Laser fire darkened his metallic body. Around him, humans lay, their blood pooling on the carrier craft's flow and dying the grey metal a sickly maroon. Beside him, a black-haired scientist was holding a cloth to his pierced cheek, but he was glaring into the distance at something only he could see. The groans of the dead and the dying filled the ship and outside, the wind howled with laughter as the craft sped over the wild deserts of North Africa, fleeing to the havens of civilized and cultured Europe. But how many of the humans in this lone surviving craft would live to see the hospitals of Europe? Would this lone Autobot survive that trip?

If he could, the mech would be weeping for the Autobots lost in battle—born after the war, all had just grown past being Sparklings. But he had no time to grieve. He had thought that he was on a standard guardian mission by protecting the Breaker Lab agents in their base, but what he had seen there clearly showed that there were things going on with in the Breaker Labs too big to hide. They had hustled someone into the labs, refusing to allow the Autobot guards to see anything of the visitor. They had insisted that the main labs were too far away to go to, although distance was nothing of importance in this day and age of technology. That, and the appearance of so many Decepticons made it all the more urgent that he pushed his grief for the dead aside to return to duty and figure out what Breaker Labs had been up to.

"Hello?" he said quietly, speaking into open air space through his radio. "Is anyone alive out there? Hello?"

_"Hello, this is His Majesty's Ship the Normandy of the British Navy, to whom am I speaking?"_

The mech felt relief sweep his systems at hearing a friendly voice—human, but it was a British one, which meant that they were already entering European air space.

"I need you to contact the Global Autobot Headquarters, connecting me directly to Optimus Prime. Tell him it's Ironhide. Something awful just happened.

* * *

Credits:

All recognizable Transformers belong to Hasbo.

Decepticons Mash and Flickword belong to me.

All Efforts and Breaker Labs belong to me.

Africa belongs to itself (even though in this story, northern Africa was a lawless, governmentless hell).

Decepticon Seeker Solarflare and her pet turbofox, Corona, belong to the Great Susinko.

* * *

**Parting Notes: **First of all, to those who have pushed through all 31 chapters at once on a later date of this story's completion: Good job. I can imagene that plowing through _31_ chapters has made your brain scream _oh gawd, too many words!!_ at more than one point, but if you did read them all, then I guess you liked it. ^_^ Cookies to you!

Second: Thank you so much for all the reviews everyone! I'm glad you all liked it. I had no idea that it would be such a success! ^_^

Third: I can imagine the disappointment some people feel now: That's it? We read through thirty chapters and only get _a_ Autobot in the tail end of the entire story? Don't worry, readers, there'll be Autobots in the sequel, which will begin being postde up in, like, a week or two? I gotta fix it up a little. Here's a sneak peek for it, because I love ya'll so much. ^_^:

* * *

_**The ship landed gently on long, thin struts and its quiet engine hummed in a lower tone as it powered down. The side doors opened and a ramp was lowered. A duffle bag that would have other wise been carelessly thrown out so that its owner may exit the craft as quickly as possible was respectfully handed to its owner, who proceeded to salute the bag handler before turning on his heel and marching down the ramp.**_

_**The owner was sixteen year old Benjamin, a broad-shouldered, strong-bodied lad who appeared almost twenty. His face was chiseled and expressionless as stone and his rich, pure blue eyes did not waver. His thick-muscled body was clad in the black boots and dark green uniform of the military school he had attended this year. His buzz cut brown hair was hidden beneath a uniform cap that reminded one of a Marine.**_

_**He walked down the ramp and the cruiser carefully retracted its ramp as its doors slid shut before it lifted off and left impersonally. As it left, the leaves in the trees of the Landing Park rustled and everybody turned. A part of the small crowd split for the new comer. A towering red and blue mech passed through the trees and the parted crowd, looking down at Benjamin with seasoned blue optics. These optics sparkled in a smile as he knelt in front of Benjamin, holding his arms open.**_

_**"Welcome home, Benjamin," Optimus Prime said.**_

_**Benjamin smiled somewhat and hugged the Transformer.**_

_**"Hi, dad," he whispered.**_


End file.
